A Kami's Gift
by Afanasyi
Summary: In the final battle our heroes fall. However, Sakura has caught the attention of a deity, who has offered her another go at life, as well as a chance at power beyond her wildest imagination. Follow Haruno Sakura as she figures out how to play this game her life has been turned into, and see if she has what it takes to be the hero. - Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

She had fought harder than she ever had before in her entire life. She had pushed out everything she had, and still, still she was forced to watch their backs. Forced to watch them as they fought, watch them as they outshone her. And now she could do nothing but to watch them die.

"A pity, isn't it?" a fellow spirit, so Sakura assumed, asked.

"How?" the incorporeal Sakura choked out as she watched her boys, her friends, her teammates face the same fate she had. "How could we fail? We fought so hard!" she wailed, furious, heartbroken. She sobbed. "I failed them."

"Yes," the spirit agreed, "Yes, you did, but then, really, what else could you do? I've been watching you, Haruno-san. You've become a strong shinobi, stronger than most, and yet you have more potential to grow. But they, well, they are barely even human, are they? It was all stacked in their favor. What could one little girl do against gods among men?"

Despite the compassionate tone the woman's words were enough to further enrage the distraught kunoichi. "I punched a god in the face," she growled out.

The spirit laughed. "Ah, and that you did! See? This is why I like you, Sakura. This is why I am going to give you a gift."

"A gift?" the broken kunoichi asked, wary. She was in shock still from her death, and had thought little of the spirit that had become visible to her once she had lost her battle to keep her body alive. Now she was less certain of her original theory that the spirit was just another fallen shinobi who had yet to move on. Could she be some sort of monster that preyed on souls? She knew that she had to be careful until she learned more about the afterlife.

"Yes, dear one, a gift. I will give you a second chance, and, if you work for it, a chance to truly stand side by side with them, as you have always wanted. The path will be hard, harder than before. I will make it so. You can choose to say no, of course. I will let you pass on. So, what do you say?"

Sakura thought she had lost her sanity along with her life; this all seemed surreal, and though she could scarcely bring herself to accept that this could be anything but a trick the only word that she could think to say was, "Yes." It could be a trap, but the hope that she felt blossoming inside her swept away all caution and fear.

Her world faded to blackness, and she let herself be pulled away from the blood strewn battlefield.

The only light she could see in the darkness of her new surroundings was the spirit. It was strange, the spirit, as she did not have a form as Sakura did - her spirit looked the same as she had while in life, though she was intangible, even to herself. The other spirit, however, was a human shaped light, and clearly female. The light was white, and so bright that Sakura knew that if she had eyes, real eyes, that light would have been blinding.

"Now then, let me explain how this will work. You will be starting your life back at the age of five, the year you started at the academy. Certain aspects of your life will be changed. As I said, this will be a challenge for you. I want to help you make things right, but I will not hold your hand for you. You must earn this, Sakura. You will, however, be given a few perks based on things I saw as achievements in your previous life. Are you following me so far, Sakura?"

"I think so, yes. I don't understand how this is possible. Who are you? How can you do this?"

"Haruno-san, I am a god - a true god, unlike the woman you just faced. I can do far more than this if it suited me. Regardless, back to the topic at hand. You will be starting at level one. You have seven years to prepare yourself for the trials that await you."

"Level?" Sakura asked, utterly confused by the term.

"Yes, for you the world will be changed. Your growth will be measured in levels, and your power displayed with stats. You will be able to directly see just what you can do. In short, your life will be played like a videogame, of sorts."

Sakura was intrigued by the idea. "Will other people have levels too?"

"Yes, but they will not be aware of the game, and you will not tell them of it. This is for you alone, Haruno-san. Now, enough talk. The world awaits you."

And, just like that, she was no longer in blackness, nor was she a spirit.

* * *

As this is a story is about an RPG, sort of, I will be using a number generator for things. Lots of things.

Critique, criticism, and ideas are always welcome!

Chapter Last Edited On : March 16th, 2015


	2. Chapter 2

The game system is somewhat based off of the one in the manhua 'The Gamer'. Its a pretty entertaining story. Also, if you are into the Gamer plot, you should check out Temairine, who has written quite a few stories about it**.**

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Nice comments inspire me to write, and criticism is always loved as I want to improve my writing, and make this story the best it can be.

I currently don't have a beta, so while I attempt to proofread somethings might escape me. If anyone would be interested in being a beta for me please send me a message.

Oh, also, I own nothing in this story.

* * *

'And, just like that, she was no longer in blackness, nor was she a spirit. '

* * *

Her eyes were shut, but she knew where she was almost instantly - home. The sounds filtering in from outdoors were so familiar. As she inhaled she smelled the familiar scents that let her know she was in her bedroom. Cherry blossom and vanilla were the scents her mother washed her things in. This bed, her bed, had been lost in Pein's attack. She had been relieved back then, as it was finally an excuse to get a bigger one, but now she was so happy to have it back, because it was home. She was home.

She, however, was not alone. Her eyes shot open, and she sat up, looking for the other presence. She took a deep breathe to settle herself when she saw it was the Kami.

"Welcome back, Sakura."

The pink haired woman who wore a child's body sent the woman a warm smile. She was home, she was happy, and she was especially hopeful. The horrors of her fight mattered less, and less as she thought of plans for the future.

"So, how will this work?" she questioned.

"For starters, let me introduce to you the menus you have available to you. First of all, you have your basic status window in the top left of your vision," said window appearing as the woman spoke, " This window lets you see your basic information. Your health is the red bar, and your chakra is the blue. Above the bars you can see your name, and your title - of which you currently have none. Below your status window is your group window, which will show the status' of your party members. In time you will be able to form your own party. However, the game can also auto assign you party members as needed. Understood?"

Sakura nodded.

"Now, you also have your ability menu that lists what abilities you have learned. To open it, simply think ability menu. When you have these menus open the world will freeze, or pause, as will you, physically. Open the ability menu now."

'Ability Menu?' she thought, and said menu appeared, overlaying over the world behind it.

"As promised, I have given you a few passive abilities. These abilities will grow stronger as you do, however, unlike most other abilities, they can not separately be leveled. The first is 'Tsunade Number Two', a name given to you by many of the Konoha shinobi force for both your talent, and your beauty. As such, it will give you a boost to your Mind, and Body stats. You have one other stat, Spirit. I will explain them all further later. This ability will also give you a bonus in learning medical skills, and your chakra control"

Sakura scanned over the ability as it appeared in the window before her.

Tsunade Number Two - lv 1

+3% Mind

+3% Body

+20% Chakra Control

" Your second ability is called Field Medic. Not every medic can perform in the field, and it is rarer still for any to be able to do so as well as you. This skill gives you a boost to all your stats, as well as boost the power of all your medical abilities, increase your chakra control, and improve your poison skills."

Field Medic

+2% Mind

+2% Body

+2% Spirit

+20% Chakra Control

"Your third ability is God Punch, because, as you pointed out, you did, in fact, punch Kaguya. A brilliant move that almost finished her."

God Punch

+4% Body

+2% Spirit

+5% Taijutsu Damage

"And your fourth ability is Overpowered Puppet. You made an antidote to Sasori's poison, and saved Kankuro. You smashed Sasori's puppets, and dodged his brutal attacks. You allowed Chiyo to use you as a puppet, and the two of you took down Sasori. You even attempted to sacrifice yourself for the elder puppet master."

Overpowered Puppet

+2% Mind

+2% Body

+2% Spirit

+5% Poison Damage

"And last of all, we have Top Test Taker. In your younger days you studied hard to learn what it meant to be a ninja. In many ways you were still so innocent, and ignorant of what was to come, but you truly did put your mind to work when it came to being a shinobi."

Top Test Taker

+6% Mind

+20% Ability Experience Gain

"You have three stats that you can increase, which, in turn, affect all your other stats. First of all you have Mind. This affects things such as your intelligence, perceptiveness, your chakra control, and how many stats you earn every level. It is the main source of power for genjutsu. Second is Body. It affects things like how strong, fast, and flexible you are. It controls how your body looks. It, of course, affects your taijutsu. It, along with Spirit, controls how much chakra you have. Spirit also controls how much experience you gain, your luck, and your ability in ninjutsu, among other things."

"How do I find out what else they control? And how much they boost things?"

"I'll let you figure that out on your own. You can see your stats in the Character Window."

'Character.'

The window in front of her was soon covered by another. It showed an image of her, and around it were squares, of which only one had anything in it; that thing being her nightgown. Clearly the squares were for her equipment, if not other things as well. To the right side of the image of herself was a list of stats.

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five

Level - 1

Xp - 0/250

Health - 17

Chakra - 17

Mind - 1 (1)

Body -1 (1)

Spirit - 1 (1)

Stats - ?

Sakura was fairly certain that those scores were not only bad, but abysmal. The scowl on her face showed just how she felt about that.

"Remember, dear, you are only five years old, and only at your first level. You have time to grow. Now, you have stat points to put in for your first level. This will be different from level to level, based not only on your static boosts, but also from luck. In RPGs, random numbers are used to control many aspects of the game. You'll have to get used to this. Every level up will give you at least 1 point in every stat, as seen above. Now, the system will generate your bonus stat points that you get to control."

Sakura watched as the question mark next to Stats turned into a seven.

"Now, as with opening the windows, you simply need to think the command."

Sakura did not take long to think things through. Her first year in the academy had mostly been spent on knowledge. However, she did not want to let the other stats fall behind. She was in a game now, and she did not know what changes alone that would make.

'Three points to Mind, Two points to Body, and Two points to Spirit.'

Mind - 4 (5)

Body - 3 (3)

Spirit - 3 (3)

Accept changes?

'Yes.' And with that thought she could feel herself change. It was small, but she felt more energetic, she could tell she had more chakra, everything about her seemed better. She grinned. 'I can get used to this!'

"You also have an inventory that will show the things you have on you. This is another gift that I give to you. You will be able to store things here, and summon them with a thought as needed; much like a storage scroll. You also have three save slots, and one auto save. Use them wisely! The autosave will save for its first time when I leave. I will leave the rest of the game's abilities for you to figure out. One last thing before I go. I have given you many things, but this one thing I will be taking from you. You know very well that you did not appreciate it enough. I hope you will grow from this."

Sakura frowned, "What is it?"

"Good luck, Haruno Sakura." And with that she faded away. The game windows closed, and life resumed outside the walls of her house.

Auto Saving

Sakura slipped out of bed, and stretched. While the market outside was as noisy as ever it was quiet in the house. Her parents were obviously away on missions, which Sakura found disappointing - she had not seen them since before the war started. Plus, this meant she had to make her own breakfast. Bummer. She set about getting herself ready for the day, and some time later she was clean, and garbed in a red tank top, blue capris, and black ninja sandals. The clothing she had been wearing before was now in her inventory. She made her way downstairs, and was headed to the kitchen to find something to eat when she heard the knock on the door.

Quest Started

You Are My Sunshine

*Answer the door.

Sakura could vividly remember her mother scolding her for answering the door on her own when she was little. Sakura wasn't really little, though, and her mother wasn't here; it was unlikely she would get in trouble, and that was not going to stop her anyway. The tiny pink haired kunoichi made her way to the door, and peaked out the window next to it. The person outside her door was ANBU. Sakura swallowed hard as her stomach felt like it was doing flips. It was unlikely that they were here to see her parents since the Hokage would know they were on a mission, so he would not send an ANBU for them. No ANBU would visit someone on there own in the uniform. The only logical answer was that they were here for her. She had only one reason that she could think of as to why an ANBU would be visiting a child.

Sakura took a deep, shuddering breath, then opened the door. The quest objected completed, and another appeared below it. So far, it was only a question mark.

"Good morning, Anbu-san. How may I help you?" she was proud of how steady her voice was.

"The Hokage has requested your presence, Haruno-san," the ANBU member replied. That they were female was obvious to tell now that Sakura could hear her voice. Had she heard sympathy in the ANBU's voice? She was rather certain she had.

"Alrighty?" Sakura questioned with an undertone of excitement - a ninja hopeful would be excited to see the Hokage, right? Acting five was going to get annoying.

"I will escort you."

The quest updated.

*Follow the ANBU

Sakura nodded, and stepped outside, closing the door behind her. She took another deep breath, this one steady, and followed the shinobi through the village.

* * *

Another objective complete. Still no mention of a reward, though.

There was a chair in front of the Hokage's desk. People, at least people like herself, did not sit with the Hokage. People stood. Always. Yet there was a chair in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Haruno Sakura, yes?" the old man, the Hokage, asked her. She nodded. "Please, have a seat."

She did not tremble. She simply sat in the chair, and waited.

The Hokage waited for a while, yet after coming to realize that she was not going to speak, he started to tell her why he had summoned her.

Sakura listened, sitting still, - she would not tremble! - but her face paled to a chalky white.

Her parents were dead. Killed on missions. Separate missions. Dead. She had taken them from her. This was the price she had to pay. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her tears, then let out a short, hysterical giggle before she bit her bottom lip to stifle herself. She let in a quick breath, let it out, then wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes.

"I have no family in the village, but I don't want to leave. How do I handle the funeral? I, I." she cut herself off as her voice started to turn hysterical again. Another breath.

"Konoha will take care of the funeral arrangements. As for you, well, you have a few options. Your parents had some money saved up, and Konoha takes care of the children of its fallen shinobi. Normally you would be sent to live in an orphanage. Does that interest you?"

Sakura vehemently shook her head.

"No? Well, you can stay in your home if you wish. A social worker will check up on you from time to time, and will help you with your budget. Money will be tight, though. Your house has a guest bedroom, right?"

Sakura nodded, though was bewildered as to where he could be going with that question.

"There are other orphans in the city, and not all have a home. One boy is having trouble in the orphanage. Now, the village would be willing to compensate you to allow him to live with you, and stay in the spare bedroom. Does that interest you at all?"

*Make your decision : Yes or No?

Sakura pondered it over. She'd need money, that was for certain. She didn't particularly want some kid around, though. Unless, well, there was the chance that the kid was Naruto. It could just be wishful thinking on her part, but orphan who had problems with others just screamed Naruto. The game obviously had a hand in this. Still, might as well be careful.

'Save Game?'

Which Save Slot

Save One

Save Two

Save Three

'Save Game in Save One.'

Rename?

'Rename Save One Before Orphan Decision'

Game Saved : Before Orphan Decision

"Yes, but, might I meet him first, sir?"

*_Make your decision : Yes or No? : Complete_

*Seal the Deal

"Of course."

A few minutes later a small, child version of her teammate stepped into the room, trailing behind an ANBU. For a few moments he stared at her, and she stared right back.

His clothes weren't awful, but definitely were not anywhere close to being new. He seemed a bit smaller than she was, but physically healthy, though thin, besides the split lip. An accident, or had someone hurt him? She was fairly certain she knew the answer to that question. Her hands tightened their grip on the arms of the chair.

"Who're you?" Naruto finally demand, his voice loud.

"Haruno Sakura. Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

He seemed defensive with the way he shouted, and the way he glared at her. He was five, and yet already used to people picking on him. She could tell.

"I've heard about you," Sakura started. "They call you a monster." She said matter-of-factly. The Hokage opened his mouth to speak, but Sakura continued on. "They call me Billboard Brow 'cause of my forehead. I hate that." she explained, wrinkling up her nose. The Hokage seemed to calm, and waited for her to finish. "You're not like them, right?"

"No way!" Naruto shouted, sounding offended.

"Me neither." Sakura replied, giving the boy a warm smile. "Wanna be friends?"

Naruto, suddenly shy, looked down at the floor, then glanced to the Hokage.

The man sent a reassuring smile to the normally boisterous boy. "She has a room for you to stay in, Naruto. I think you two will get along well. Don't you think?"

Naruto nodded.

"So, what do you two say?"

"I'd be happy to have Naruto stay with me. You will, won't you, Naruto-kun?" she questioned, sending her best puppy dog eye's expression at the child.

He nodded again.

Ability Created : Persuasion : lv 1

The ability to influence someone to do something.

+2% Mind per Level

_*Seal the Deal _: Complete__

Quest complete!

$400 /month

Companion gained : Uzumaki Naruto

Legendary Questline Unlocked : The Show Off

1612 Faction with Sarutobi Hiruzen

2930 Faction with Uzumaki Naruto

80 XP

"Good, good. I will have Naruto's things brought over," he said, the ANBU leaving after he spoke. Coincidence? She thought not. "I'll bring you two home, but first, how about we get some lunch?"

Lunch? It wasn't even noon yet. She wasn't going to complain, of course, especially because she was hungry already from having her breakfast interrupted. Then, of course, this was the Hokage she was talking to.

"Ramen?" Naruto asked, his voice as loud as ever.

"I love ramen!" Sakura lied. Like, sure, but love? Not quite.

"Then its settled. Ramen it is."

* * *

She and Naruto had spent the morning just talking. Well, they talked when Naruto was not shoveling ramen into his mouth. Honestly, it was like the kid didn't think he would get to eat again. Though, with how thin he was, Sakura suspected he might not have been getting enough to eat. Surely not on purpose though. She'd keep telling herself that until she believed it.

Around noon the Hokage finally dragged them away from the ramen shop - Ichiraku's,of course - with the excuse that he had to get back to work, and dropped them off at Sakura's home.

"'C'mon, I'll show you to your room," Sakura said as she opened the front door for the blonde behind her. The boy sent her a nervous glance before stepping through the door. Sakura shut the door, grabbed the boys hand, and dragged him up the stairs. "This one is mine," she said as they passed the door at the top of the stairs. "This one is the bathroom," she said, pointing to the left door further down, "And," she said, drawing the word out, "this one is yours!" With that, she threw the door on the right side, opposite, the bathroom, open.

"Now, I know the bed sheets don't suit you. This room was meant for adults, so the bed will be big for you, but we can get you some cool blankets, and stuff, once we have the money," she said, then turned to face the young boy. "Okay?" she asked, her voice trailing off as she saw the look on the boy's face. "Naruto?" she questioned uncertainly, her voice quiet. What had happened to upset him. "Did they forget something? Why are you sad?"

The boy let out a choked sob, and shook his head. "I dun think I am," he stammered out.

Sakura closed the distance between them, and pulled the boy into a hug. He tensed for a moment, but she held on until she felt him relax, and returned the hug. In a few moments the boy was clinging to her, and sniffling to hold in his tears. He wasn't her Naruto, not yet, but that really did not matter to her right then. Her team mate needed her. "Its okay to cry," she murmured, resting her cheek against the top of the shorter child's head. "It is with me. I'll be the best Nee-san ever, okay? So you can count on me!"

The teary eyed boy looked up to send her a big smile. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Ability Leveled : Persuasion : lv 2

Apparently comforting a crying child counted as persuading someone.

They spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking Naruto's things, talking, and goofing around. He had very little, so the job would have been easier if they could focus, but she wanted to see him smile, and he was a five year old. Very little got done. It was surprisingly easy for her to come up with games that were fun for the both of them. The Game granted her +1 Mind, and +1 Body over the course of the afternoon.

She had always thought Naruto was stupid, but he was able to catch on to the rules she came up with quickly. He was clever, especially for a five year old. Yet Naruto had been an awful student, and she had always disliked him for that. School had been important to her. Naruto had always been so loud, so disruptive, and that had bothered her. He had been an enemy against education. He didn't even seem to try. How did this boy become that boy? The only answers she could come up with make her feel queasy.

* * *

"Sakura-kun! I'm hungry!"

"Sakura-chan, silly. Kun is for boys, mostly. Or you can call me Sakura-nee. 'Cause I'm gonna be your big sister." She had decided they would be family, and it would be so. Chibi Naruto was adorable, plus, this might head off that crush he had developed on her. She could not deny that there had been developing feelings for her Naruto, but she would never know what would happen with them now. She was seventeen years old. Kakashi would be, what twenty? And her boys, her teammates, were five years old. In her time she had loved them, she would always love them, but she could never love them like she had before. A part of her hurt over that. A big part of her.

"Sakura-neechan! I'm hungry!" Naruto corrected himself, looking proud. His exclamation snapping her out of her brooding.

"Alright, Naruto-kun. Let's go make some dinner."

Ability Created : Crafting : lv 1

The ability to create items.

Ability Created : Cooking : lv 1

The ability to create food.

* * *

She had just sent Naruto to his room to go to sleep. He had pouted, and had not wanted to leave her. It had been adorable. She reminded him that she would be there in the morning, and the sooner he got to sleep, the sooner they could play again.

Sakura thought that, just maybe, being a mother could be nice. Maybe someday.

Once he was asleep she washed up the dishes, then crept back up the stairs. She passed her bedroom, then Naruto's, walking all the way down to the end of the hall to open the door there. She quietly walked across the wooden floor to reach the bed. It was so tall that she had to climb into it. She burrowed under the covers, grabbed her mother's pillow, and let herself cry as she clung to it. A few minutes later she was joined by another. The blonde pulled her into a hug, and the little boy held his new friend as she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five (Seventeen)

Level - 1

Xp - 80/250

Health - 6

Chakra - 5

Mind – 5 (6)

Body – 4 (4)

Spirit - 3 (3)

* * *

I hope you all liked it. Next chapter will likely be more Naruto and Sakura bonding as the two get ready to attend the academy.

Would seeing my full stat spreadsheet be something you guys would like to see? Let me know in a review/message. It still isn't complete, though. Heh... I just filled in what I would need for the chapter, mostly. I suppose it is okay if I take my time, though. I don't want to make this feel like a job.

Any ideas for abilities you'd like Sakura to learn? They don't all have to be combat based, like with the crafting.


	3. Chapter 3

A big thank you to everyone who reviewed. I hope you continue to enjoy the story.

* * *

Sakura awoke, and, as she was trained, was immediately wide awake.

Sleeping has restored your HP and CP. All status effects have been removed.

Now that was useful. Or rather, it would be. Sakura wonder how long she had to sleep for her chakra to regenerate. She'd have to test it.

A warm smile made its way onto her lips as she remembered the night before. She could see so much of her Naruto in this little boy. Even now, he was as kind as ever. And loud, so loud. Well, at least while he was awake. The only sounds the boy made now was his soft inhales, and exhales. He had a smile on his face. She hoped he was having pleasant dreams. She hoped even more that she could keep that smile on his face.

Sakura was fairly certain that if she had placed any less points into Body that she would have been unable to untangle herself from her new housemate with waking him up. As is, she was still impressed her tiny body had managed the feat.

You have gained +1 in Body.

Which meant, without boosts, her Mind and Body were even. Spirit, however, was trailing behind. The abilities she had did not give much of a boost to Spirit, either. Now, she could focus on leveling up, or at least learning to level up, or she could focus on learning more abilities, and getting the boosts from those. Perhaps, since she would be starting at the academy soon, she should work on the academy skills? That seemed reasonable enough, despite the fact that they were only taught theory in their first year. She would get the ability for them, and would have a head start at the academy. Win win. Plus, she had a bonus for learning abilities, already. That would be fastest way to gain stats, most likely, though not as controllable.

'First off, I'll do Henge. It was the hardest to do, so it might give the best stat gain.' she thought to herself, but when she went to perform the jutsu she found herself not knowing how. Which, for Haruno Sakura, was impossible. She did not forget things. Especially not something like Henge! Which clearly meant that the game had made her forget. Which meant she was going to have to learn it all over again.

The only thing that kept her from throwing a temper tantrum was the fact that she was still a few feet away from the peacefully sleeping Naruto. Sakura silently ghosted out of the room, and down to the hall to her own room. She closed the door to her room, walked over to her bed, and with a mental shout of 'Shannaro!' she smashed her fist into her pillow.

Ability Created : Power Strike - lv 1

An attack where the attacker strikes the target with a lot of force.

+5% Critical (when active) per Level

+10% Taijutsu Damage (when active) per Level

Ability Created : Beginner Taijutsu - lv 1

Hand to hand combat.

+2% Body per Level

+1% Taijutsu Damage

The first things she noticed was that her chakra had gone down a small amount, by five. She had channeled a touch of chakra into her punch, but not much at all. Yet, her chakra stores were down under eighty now. She could only use this ability sixteen times before she exhausted her chakra pools. Unless she had some sort of regen. She'd find out about that later.

Interestingly enough. the first ability only gave her bonuses while she was using, while the second gave her a static boost. So, not all abilities would give her stats. However, she could level different abilities at the same time. She had learned cooking at the same time she had learned crafting. So if she worked on leveling cooking, she would also level crafting. So, cooking was a subset of the crafting skill. So, if she worked on Power Strike, would she then also level her Taijutsu? Then again, Power Strike did not state that is had to simply be used for Taijutsu. It seemed like a basic attack that could done with just about any weapon. If she leveled it, then wanted to try a new weapon she'd still have a decent attack to use, despite having a low weapon skill. That could make her versatile. A medic nin needed to be able to adapt, and more adaptability would definitely help against foes like Kaguya. Then again, so would having a strong attack in just a few things. Though, with the game, if she worked hard enough she might just be able to have both.

Her inner musing was cut off when her stomach gurgled.

First she would have breakfast. Then, well, the sky was the limit. Maybe.

* * *

"Blegh, Sakura-nee! What is that smell?" Naruto shouted as he made his way downstairs.

"Uh," Sakura said unintelligibly, staring at the pan in front of her. She had just been making eggs, so how had it ended up like this?

'Well, your cooking skill is low,' she reminded herself, but still, this was just silly. The eggs, which were fairly fresh, had gone rotten after she had put them in the pan. Seriously, this game was being a jerk. She only had four hundred dollars a month! She couldn't afford to waste food.

"Uh, um. I'll try again," she said, laughing nervously as she scooped the half cooked, and completely rotten, eggs into the trash can. The pan she dumped into the sink. No way was she using that again. "Could you take this out to the trash can?" she asked as she put a knot in the top of the trash bag.

Naruto took the bag from her with one hand, and plugged his nose with another.

"Careful," she chided as he dragged the bag across the floor. "It could break, ba-silly!" she added, stopping herself from calling the _five _year old an idiot.

Still, she couldn't blame him; it did smell in here. She moved to look under the sink -her mother stored the cleaning supplies there- to look for the air freshener. After she had found it she began to liberally spray it into the air.

She jumped mid spray as she heard someone who sounded nothing like a young boy clear their throat somewhere behind her. She spun, dropping into a defensive stance, ready to wield the aerosol can like a blunt weapon, bringing herself to face the intruder, also known as the Hokage.

"H-hokage-sama," she stuttered out, her face flushing as she swiftly moved from her stance into a deep bow. "Forgive me."

The man chuckled, as he set the bags he was carrying down on the kitchen table. He put his hands gently on Sakura's shoulders, and pulled her upright. "It is me who must beg your forgiveness, Haruno-san. I did not mean to startle you. Naruto let me in" he said, giving what seemed to be a young child a warm smile.

Sakura, still flushed from embarrassment, assured the Hokage that it was no problem, "The can was loud, so I was focused on that. I did not hear the door open." The Hokage was in her house. Tsunade had never even been in her home. "Tea!" she perked up. "Would you like tea, Hokage-sama?"

The man chuckled once again. "I would like that, but will you let me help you? How about you get the cups and tea ready, and I will get the water going, alright?"

Perfect, that way she wouldn't be able to burn down the house trying to heat the water.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought over some breakfast. I have some things I would like to talk to the two of you about."

"Of course not, Hokage-sama," Sakura assured the man as she gathered three tea cups, and enough tea for the three of them. She set them on the table, then stood at attention for anything else the Hokage might need.

"Please, sit Haruno-san."

Sakura could not stop the flinch at his words. People like her did not sit with the Hokage. She took a deep breath, and slipped into her seat. There would be no bad new today. There would not.

The Hokage brought the water over a few moments later, poured it into the cups, and took seat.

"Jiisan!" Naruto whined. "I'm hungry."

"Manners, Naruto-kun," Sakura chided, though not unkindly.

"Yes, yes, here we go," Sarutobi said as he started placing out the boxes of food. Soon the three had in front of them Rice, Miso Soup, and broiled Salmon.

"Neh, no Ramen?" Naruto demanded.

"Naruto, Ramen is not good to have for every meal. Besides, it is not as nutritious as most foods. It has to be a treat if you want to grow strong." Sakura against coached the boy before the Hokage could even get in a word. The elderly man simply smiled at the two. Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but Sakura cut him off. "My mommy said so." she said simply, and the young boy's mouth snapped shut. He might not have been good, at all, at social interactions, but even he could see red flags from that line.

"Oh, then it must be true," Naruto mumbled, before starting on his meal.

Sakura's returning smile was small, and sad. It took her a moment to school her expression, and another calming breath. "Thank you for the meal, Hokage-sama. Itadakimasu."

After the trio had eaten for some time the Hokage spoke up. "So, the Academy is starting soon. You are both old enough to attend. Would you like to?"

"Yes!" Naruto cheered.

"Yes, please," Sakura replied in a much more mild voice.

"Oh, right. Yes, please," Naruto said, still as boisterous as ever. Sakura put her hand over her mouth in a failed attempt to muffle her giggle. Naruto was so adorable at this age.

"Excellent, because I've already filled out the paperwork for the two of you. Also, I've brought over the school books you will need. Normally you wouldn't get them until the first day of classes, but I thought you might like a head start."

This time Naruto was not the only one who cheered. Though soon his face feel.

"Eh, books? I can't read though, Jii-jii."

"I can!" Sakura said. "I can teach you, if you want. It'll be fun!"

Naruto giggled this time. "Yeah! Nee-chan and I are going to learn all the jutsus before school starts! We'll be the best."

Sakura did not have it in her to tell him that there would be no jutsus in these books. The Hokage didn't either.

"Also, here is the monthly stipend for the two of you. Remember, this must last you two the entire month." he spoke, passing the money to Sakura.

Gained $500

"Eh?" Sakura said, frowning down at the money. "This is too much, right?" she questioned, looking up at the Hokage. They had agreed on four hundred dollars. She wouldn't forget that.

"Ah, yes. This month you get a bit extra to get your school supplies." The man explained.

Sakura wasn't sure that this was the normal procedure, but she was not going to argue.

"Is there a list of what we will need?" Sakura questioned.

"Can we get kunai?" Naruto questioned, excited.

"My… I have some. Plenty, I should think. Though, I think Academy Students use practice weapons," she said, frowning at the end.

"Any weaponry you need will be supplied in class. Here," he said, passing a scroll to Sakura. "This is a list of required supplies. Now, Sakura, you have money that is available to you should you need it. Until you are of legal age, however, you will need permission to access it. As of now, I am the legal guardian of both you and Naruto. If you need anything, anything at all, you come to me, alright?"

Sakura nodded. "Thank you, Hokage-sama," she said, bowing her head.

"Now, if that's that, I'll have to get to the office. I fear I might be late as is. Take care, and remember, I am always available for you two."

"Bye, Jii-jii!"

"Have a good day, Hokage-sama."

+20,600 Faction gained with Sarutobi Hiruzen

Sakura blinked at the amount. That seemed like an awful a lot for just being polite during a meal. What had she done to impress him? Or was it the game itself that had made the number so high.

Soon the Hokage was gone, and Sakura was reading the list as Naruto continued to stuff his face with food. His manners needed work, but Sakura did not find herself disgusted with the amount he was eating as she normally would be. He was too cute to be disgusting, and too thin for her to want anything but for him to eat.

"Lets see here. Notebooks, pens. Hmm, that is a lot of stuff. We'll need backpacks too. I have enough clothes, but you don't have much. We'll have to get you some."

"We don't need to," Naruto said guiltily.

"Don't be silly. You need to be able to focus on your schoolwork. Not things like whether you have enough clothes to get through the week. Don't worry, we'll have enough. I promise."

"Alright, nee-chan." She very much liked being called that, she found.

Persuasion has gained a level.

Which, if her math was correct, should bring her up to eleven in Mind.

"Now, why don't you go get washed up, and dressed, so we can head out, okay?"

"Okay!" The boy shouted, then scampered off to do just that.

+20,400 Faction gained with Uzumaki Naruto

Again, the amount seemed huge, but what did it mean, exactly?

'Faction Menu?'

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Neutral : 0/20000

Konoha Ninja : Neutral : 0/20000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto :Friendly : 23,330/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 22,212/100,000

So, that meant out of everyone in the whole world the only two people who gave a shit about her were Uzumaki Naruto, and Sarutobi Hiruzen. All in all, she thought she was pretty lucky. Out of anyone, those were two very nice people to have. Though, it was odd to her that the Hokage was almost as fond of her as Naruto was. She'd have to fix that.

Sakura set about putting the leftovers away; the Hokage had brought over more food than the three would possibly need, and headed upstairs to get herself ready.

* * *

The Show Off – Academy Wannabes

Find a way to buy school supplies.

"Get out, and don't come back!" the woman screeched at the two as they were forcefully shoved out of the shop. The two children fell to the ground. Naruto was sniffling, trying to hold in tears, and Sakura was shaking, trying to hold in her anger; which was not something she was known to be good at.

"Fine, you hag!" Sakura screamed back to the shop keeper, as she righted herself. "If you want to deny an orphan the right of patronage, go right ahead. I don't need to be shopping anyways. I'll just go back to planning my parent's funeral. You know, the ones I found out that died yesterday, protecting this village that you live in!" She shouted. The people surrounding them stopped to stare. The woman went even redder in the face, and slammed the door to the store shut. Naruto burst into tears.

"S-sorry, Nee-chan. M-my fault."

Sakura whirled around as the boy started cry. Getting back into the dirt on her knees, she pulled the boy to her, wrapping him into a tight hug. People were still looking on, most with shock, but some with disgust. "Shh, shh. Don't be silly. Bad people do bad things. Its not your fault."

"Girl, get away from him. Its not sa-" he cut off at the glare Sakura sent his way. Or perhaps it was the killing intent she was letting out. She opened her mouth, but before she could get a word out someone spoke instead.

"Ma, ma. What do we have here? Troublemakers?"

Sakura turned to look at the man, eyes wide with shock.

'Kakashi?'

"Ah, yes, Shinobi-san. Troublemakers." the man agreed, nervous.

"Can't have that. Up you two. Lets go."

Sakura got to her feet, pulling the sniffling Naruto up with her.

"Yes, Shinobi-san."

"Good girl." And with that, the masked man gently scooped up both of the tiny ninjas-to-be, and Body Flickered to the roof of the store, then again to a few buildings over.

"Whoa," Naruto breathed out.

"Thank you for saving us, Shinobi-san," Sakura said as sweetly as possible, hoping to make the most of the situation.

"Is that what I did?" Kakashi asked, amused.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, and put a confused look on her face. "Well, we didn't do anything bad. People were mean. Then you came, and took us away. That counts as saving us, I think. Right?"

"I suppose it does. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Well… I need to buy supplies for Naruto and myself for school. That store that threw us out has the best prices. So, either we have to shop somewhere else, which would be difficult on our budget, or, um, well, since you did technically offer, sorta, to help, you could, uh," she said, stammering in an attempt to be cute at the end, "teach us the transformation technique that the academy students learn so we can shop there without upsetting anyone," she finished, her words coming out in a rush. Then she looked up with her big green eyes, peeking up at him through her eyelashes. "I learn quick! You'd only have to show me once. I promise."

"Yeah, nee-san is smart!" Naruto chimed in, despite having very little evidence towards that.

"Well, alright then." Kakashi said as the game informed her she had received another level in persuasion. , Both Naruto and Sakura gave him a huge smile as he set them down. "I am just going to show you once, then." And with that, he slowly went through the signs for the jutsu, and with a poof of smoke, he had transformed himself into… a beautiful, busty, redheaded woman. He released the transformation a few moments later. "Your turn."

"Hmm," Sakura closed her eyes, focusing on the chakra within herself, and on the image of the transformation she wanted to make. 'Dog, Boar, Ram!'

Ability Created : Transformation Technique

+1% Mind per Level

+1% Spirit per Level

And with that, the beautiful, busty redhead had returned.

"Did I get it?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Kakashi replied slowly, not quite believing his eyes.

"Wow! You're so cool nee-chan. Its my turn now!"

He pressed his fingers together into the correct seals, which Sakura was shocked to see. How had he copied them so easily? Or had he learned them before? It wasn't unlikely for him to have asked the Hokage to teach him something, she suspected.

However, nothing happened.

The Show Off – Academy Wannabes

_Find a way to buy school supplies._

Teach Naruto the Transformation Technique

Sakura let the henge drop. It was bringing her chakra pool down the longer she kept it up. Slowly, but she had to be careful is she wanted to get any shopping done.

"Here, Naruto-kun, do what I do. Listen, and close your eyes," she instructed as she did that same. "Focus on your energy, your chakra. Feel it flowing through your body, like rivers flowing through a forest. Always flowing. Do you feel it?"

"I-I think so!"

"Focus on the rivers. Let it flow. Now, do the signs, but this time, remember to let your chakra flow. Let the flows change, if they need to. If they want to. Open yourself. Let the seals control the waters, the chakra. View the image of your transformation in your mind. Hold onto the image, and let your chakra go. Ready? Go."

The two went through the signs, and there were two poofs as they both transformed.

Ability Created : Mentoring

+2% Mind per Level

+2% Spirit per Level

+2% Body per Level

+100% Ability and Skill Gain for Mentee (when active)

-50% Ability and Skill Gain for Mentor (when active)

+1 Mind and +1 Spirit Gained

The Show Off - Academy Wannabe!

_Find a way to buy school supplies._

_Teach Naruto the Transformation Technique_

Academy Wannabe : Complete

233 XP Gained

You have leveled up!

HP and CP restored.

Sakura stared down at the Henged Naruto. He looked almost the same, except his hair was pink, his eyes were brown -as were hers-, and those giveaway whisker marks were gone.. Sakura pumped her fist into the air. "Cha! You did it! Awesome."

"Hehe. I wasn't sure what I wanted to transform into, but I figured that if I had pink hair, at least, no one would suspect it was me. Especially if you had red hair. Then, with both having brown eyes, we would look like we really could be related!"

"Thank you so much, Shinobi-san," Sakura said, bowing low to her past, and hopefully future sensei.

"Yeah, thanks Shinobi-san, dattebayo!"

"Well, you two take care." And with that, he disappeared, leaving the two on the roof.

+9844 Faction Gained with Hatake Kakashi

+11604 Faction Gained with Uzumaki Naruto

"Alright! Lets get to climbing," Naruto said, looking over the roof.

"Naruto-kun, there is a fire escape stairwell over here..."

* * *

The two emerge from the clothing store some time later. After the first store, where they had bought their school supplies, Sakura was forced to release her henge. She had not been out of chakra, but she had gotten below halfway. There was no way any self respecting ninja was going to let themselves be drained of chakra outside of a dire circumstance; which shopping did not count as. Well, at least not now that she was older. The clerk at the clothing store had tried to convince Naruto to shop from the girl's section, and Sakura had had to quickly intervene before Naruto got offended, and blew their cover. Once she got him out of hearing distance of anyone she explained his slip up. They were undercover, and so they had to stay true to their characters. Naruto had frowned, asking if that meant he had to get girl clothes. Sakura rolled her eyes, and replied that, no, he was the tomboyish twin.

After that, they ducked into an alley where Naruto dropped his henge.

"Neechan, I'm hungry!"

"Me too, wanna-"

"Lets get ramen," Naruto cut Sakura off midway.

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but then snapped it shut. 'Stupid,' she chided herself, and nodded to Naruto. "Sure, we did a good job today, so we can treat ourselves. Good food for good work!" She would drill that thought into his head, and maybe, just maybe, it would motivate him to study.

Though, it would be good if she learned to cook; taking him out to eat was going to get expensive. She'd have to read some cookbooks, and follow the instructions very carefully. She prayed that doing that would help.

As it turned out, lunch was not going to be expensive after all. Naruto had explained to the shopkeeper, and his then very young daughter who had been working on school work at the bar, that he had gotten accepted at the Academy. He had then explained that he and his 'neesan' had to learn a fancy ninja jutsu to sneak into a store to shop -which he promptly showed off- cause the shopkeeper had thrown them out. They were immediately congratulated, and told that their dinner was on the house.

Which was when Sakura burst into tears.

"Sakuranee! Why are you sad?"

"I don't think I am."

* * *

The two made their way home, bellies full of ramen.

"Why don't you put your clothes away, then we can pack our bags for school," Sakura suggested as she made her way to the kitchen to drop the school supplies on the table. She promptly grabbed one of her mother's cookbooks, and plopped down in a chair to find a recipe. Perhaps a soup. Soups weren't hard. She flicked from page to page, scanning, until she found one that looked good. She read over the instructions, and crinkled her nose. Nope, too complicated. More scanning, and she read another page.

Cooking has gained a level.

'Well then,' Sakura thought, flipping back to the front of the book. That made things much easier. By the time it was late enough for dinner. Sakura had fifteen levels in cooking, and seven in crafting. The soup she made that night didn't turn out that bad, and she earned another cooking level while making it.

Sakura put Naruto to bed, then went to her own room. She used the inventory to change into nightgown, then crawled into bed.

'Character'

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five

Level - 2

Xp - 63/500

Health – 83/83

Chakra - 84/84

Mind – 6 (8)

Body – 5 (6)

Spirit - 4 (5)

Stats - 25

'Wow!' Sakura thought as she say the amount of stats she had to add. She had gotten lucky this time. 'Now, putting points into Mind would, theoretically, help me the most in school. However, despite having the jutsus I've learned taken from me, I still remember everything else. Still, Mind would allow me to capitalize on my biggest strength: chakra control. However, I barely have enough chakra to hold a henge for half an hour. I am so weak in this body, and people have proven that they are going to make my, and Naruto's, life difficult. Today it was just a civilian, but what if we run into a ninja who had a grudge against 'the fox demon'? How I am I going to protect us like this? Plus, I need Spirit if I ever want to be a medic nin. Chakra control was good enough before, more than good enough, but now ninjutsu requires Spirit. In short, I need everything.'

So that was just what she got. Nine points went into Mind, eight went to Body, and another eight went to spirit.

Mind – 15 (20)

Body – 13 (16)

Spirit - 12 (14)

Accept Changes?

'Yes.' And with that, she closed the game window, and went to sleep.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five

Level - 2

Xp - 63/500

Health - 22/22

Chakra - 21/21

Mind – 15 (20)

Body – 13 (16)

Spirit - 12 (14)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Neutral : 0/20000

Konoha Ninja : Neutral : 0/20000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto :Friends : 34,934/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 22,212/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive/Curious : 9,844/100,000

* * *

So, Sakura gets another level. As you can see, her abilities that she was given at the start have a big effect on her stats. She is progressing quickly, but, as everyone who plays games know, the higher level you get, the harder it is to level. She might be overpowered soon, but how long can she stay that way as those around her progress, too? Plus, the game itself is going to spin out challenges for her. In fact, in the next chapter Sakura is in for a big surprise thanks to the game.

Oh, and I am still looking for a beta.


	4. Chapter 4

This one is short, but I accomplished everything I wanted to, so it seemed silly to stretch it on any longer.

_Reviewer Reply_

This chapter is for The Dimensional Reader. I am sure the others will show their faces soon.

firebluebird2006 - Yeah, the number in () is what effects everything. The other number is just her unbuffed stats.

Teturo - Ha, I was thinking of a character from his naughty books, but it does sound like Kushina.

* * *

The next few days went fairly smoothly for the pair of pre-academy students. Sakura managed to multitask by teaching Naruto to read by going over cooking books. Using the mentoring ability slowed down her progress, but, overall between the two of them, the progression was fifty percent faster. Still, it was a slow process, but so far Naruto had learned the words for everything that could go into ramen, which he was thrilled about. It also brought up concepts like numbers, temperature, and time, which she was then able to discuss with him when he was confused. Sakura could cook without anymore serious issues happening. Sure, there were still some burning every now and then, but the food was still edible, and not at all rotten. Her cooking was at level twentytwo, while her crafting was at level six. Her mentoring skill had risen to level four. Plus, she had gained more Faction with Naruto, bringing him up over the 50k mark. He now considered her a good friend, and trusted her, which made things like persuasion easier with him. However, there had been no more quests, which meant no more experience.

Sadly, it was not to last. While she herself was content to stay inside and grind up her skills, she found that other five year olds got rambunctious while kept in doors. Plus, once she thought about it, most of the kids in her first year had not had anything beyond a basic understanding of reading. She, herself, had been good at it, but even then did not have the complete mastery of her language that she had now. So, while for once Naruto would be slightly ahead of the average student, she had already set herself well above that. It was one thing to show one jounin that she could learn a basic skill quickly, but she had shown the Hokage that she was more advanced than a normal child should be, as well. At first all Sakura could think of was that they would _know. _She would have to act normal.

"Sakuranee! I'm bored!"

"But Naruto-kun, don't you want to learn more about ramen?" she asked, turning back from the stove to smile at the boy.

"Not today!" The boys pout was simply adorable. Sakura giggled.

"Okay, okay. After breakfast we'll do something fun, alright? I'll even let you pick." She said, and the blonde little boy pumped his fist up into the air. She finished placing the food into bowls, or onto plates, and carried them over to the table. This morning they were having Rice, Miso Soup, and Tamagoyaki, and, luckily enough, it all seemed to come out perfectly. "Now, lets eat! Itadakimasu!"

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto could be quite polite when someone taught him proper manners.

* * *

Sometime later the pair were on their way to the playground, at Naruto's request, with a bento for each, as well as some medical supplies, tucked away in Sakura's backpack. Despite the warmer weather from a few days ago, the temperature had gone back down, and it had rained the day before, and so Sakura had been sure to bundle the miniature Naruto up in his new coat, and had him but on his boots. Both of which were orange, just like he had wanted. Sakura's coat, on the other hand, was yellow, as were her rainboots. Together, with their clothes and hair, they made a rather bright, colorful duo. The giggling pair brought a few smiles as they went by, though most of those disappeared once they realised just who they were smiling at. Sakura found it a touch funny that some of those smiles turned to glares aimed Naruto's way. as she was the one who the most dangerous, with the assorted weaponry she had hidden beneath the warm, colorful layers. They could glare all they wanted, but no one had better put their hands on them, or she was going to make them pay.

She would never admit it, but being thrown out of a store in the middle of a crowded street had been humiliating, and she wasn't even close to being over it.

The pair hadn't even gotten a few feet onto the playground when they were stopped by a petite, purple haired monster - Ami. She would have known just who the girl was, regardless, thanks to the text over her head.

Ume Ami

Playground Bully

LV 1

Which likely meant that Ami would be an easy fight, if not for the three girls behind her. Four level ones against a level two? She could take them. She was sure of it.

"Look at what we have here. Two freaks in cheap clothes!"

Which was totally unfair, really, because Sakura's clothes were _not_ cheap, and while Naruto's were bought at a bargain store she had been careful to only pick out decent pieces. You could actually get some really nice stuff at thrift stores if you looked carefully enough.

"What out for the pack of dogs, Naruto-kun. Those mongruls probably carry germs," she said, leaning over towards Naruto, and putting her hand over her mouth. It would have looked like she were whispering to him, but she spoke in a voice loud enough to carry over half the playground.

Naruto wasn't the only one who laughed, but he was the only one who said, "Haha, she called you four bitches!"

Sakura was very proud of how fast he had picked up counting. "Naruto-kun, thats a bad word." Sakura pointed out, kindly.

"Bad words suit bad people." Naruto said, grinning.

"Shut up, you two idiots!" Ami finally screamed, snapping out of her surprise. Sakura had never stood up to her before. Ever.

"Oh dear, is that foam coming out of her mouth? She must be rabid. Stay behind me, Naruto. Don't let it bite you."

And with an enraged scream, Ami threw herself at Sakura. Sakura sidestepped the girl, pulling Naruto with her, and the purple haired girl fell into the muddy ground.

"Get her!" Ami yelled to her friends as she pushed herself up from the ground, tears in her eyes.

"Naruto, please let me handle this one. I want to see how I can do." Sakura shifted into a defencive stance. "I will defend myself," she said coolly to the group of three. Once still came forward, warily. Sakura waited. The girl then charged, and threw a punch. Sakura grabbed the girl's wrist, and threw her towards Ami. The girl tripped over her friend, and the two collapsed into the mud.

The other two charged her. Sakura dropped, and swung a leg to knock the two over, before straightening up.

"Aw, you guys are too easy! You're going to need to seriously practice more if you want to fight on your own like that. Or you could try to be smart, and fight together. Jeez, you guys look gross, all covered in mud like that."

"You just wait, Haruno! We'll kick your ass next time! Lets go, guys. They aren't worth our time."

Sakura had watched Ami get ripped apart in the war. She had never liked the girl, but she didn't want any of her fellow ninja to die like that. She really hoped this encouraged the girl to take things more seriously. She hadn't been any better than Sakura had been, skill wise, back in school, and her grades hadn't been nearly as good.

Encounter Complete!

88 XP Earned!

Which, she quickly figured, brought her up to 151 out of the 500 that she needed!

'Kickass! Fighting gets us experience too! Lets beat up everyone!' … 'Or not. Not sounds a lot more legal.'

"Hehe, you were so cool, Sakuranee! They didn't even get a hit!"

Sakura turned to grin at the boy. "Yeah, but next time they are going to bring their A game! We'd better practice how to fight together, too."

"Yeah, dattebayo! We'll be the best team ever."

"Come on, Naruto-kun, lets go play!" She cheered, dragging the boy off towards the swings.

* * *

Sakura munched on a rice ball as she watched the newest newcomer walk onto the playground.

'Funny, I don't recall seeing him at a playground before,' she mused as she chewed.

Sasuke had just arrived at the playground, hand in hand with who Sakura assumed could only be Uchiha Itachi. Some other, slightly older, person followed closely behind the pair. Sakura assumed he was an Uchiha too. He looked like an Uchiha. He was the only one talking, it seemed. Sasuke was intent on getting to the swings, pulling his brother along with him.

His genius brother. Who, if she remembered correctly, had to be at least a chuunin, or something, at this age. He had graduated the academy way young.

'I can just pretend to be a genius too! In fact, that's probably what the Hokage was thinking. He brought the books to see how advanced I was.'

Though, she didn't want to graduate early. She wanted to be on team seven. She only had to test out early is she wanted to, though.

Uchiha Itachi was looking at her. Sasuke-kun was looking at her, with a pout. She had been staring. Chewing, and staring. Her face went red, and she looked away. 'Pretend nothing happened. Pretend nothing happened.'

Naruto had been watching Sakura focus on something besides him. He was positive she had not heard a word he said. He was upset, which was quite obvious by the pout on his face, but that quickly turned to worry as he saw Sakura's face turn colors.

"Sakuranee?" he questioned, reaching his hand out to feel her forehead. Sakura jumped at the contact, so Naruto took his hand away. "Are you alright?"

Sakura looked up at Naruto, and had to stop herself from saying 'aw'. His worried expression was so cute. She grinned. "Hehe, its all okay, Naruto-kun. Here, lets clean up," she said, and started putting lids back onto boxes.

Someone was walking towards them. Someone with little feet. She could hear it. She turned her head. No, three people were walking towards them, but only one was untrained enough to make noise.

"Good afternoon, kiddos!" the oldest spoke. Though he looked very Uchihaish Sakura was starting to doubt he was one. He seemed cheerful, and fun. Kinda like Naruto.

"My brother, Sasuke, was wondering if he could play with you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow as she took in Sasuke's pouting face. "Oh? Is that so?"

Sasuke sent a pleading look at his brother. "Do I have to?" he attempted to whisper.

Sakura heard, and so did Naruto.

"Eh? Have to? You should be grateful to even be able to speak to my Neechan! She is the greatest of the greatest! The strongest! The most prettiest! I bet she could beat your brother up!"

Sakura put her hand to her face.

"She could not!" Sasuke shouted.

"Could too!"

"Not!"

Sakura burst out laughing. "You two are already fighting like an old married couple!"

"Are not!" the two yelled back.

Sakura laughed harder, and was joined by the older maybe Uchiha. "N-no? Silly me."

"She's still cooler," the slightly mollified Naruto said.

"I think the more important question is which of you two is cooler. The cooler person would be able to get to the sandbox first, I think," she said, cutting off Sasuke's reply.

Naruto darted off, and Sasuke followed, yelling "Cheater!"

Sakura giggled once again, and set about packing up the leftovers from lunch.

"I won!" Naruto yelled someway off in the distance.

"No, I won!" Sasuke yelled back.

"It was too close to tell, I think. Still, the coolest person would be able to build a better sandcastle, right?" she yelled back.

Naruto dove right into the sand, while Sasuke pouted, and pointed out that they had no tools.

"Cool kids don't need tools. They are too smart to use them anyways," she said, standing up, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "Naruto is only using his hands," she reminded, her voice still loud enough to carry across to the boys. Sasuke started building.

"That was nicely handled," Itachi spoke. To her. One of the strongest people to ever be born in Konoha was talking to her. He had murdered his entire family. He was smiling at her.

"Thank you, Uchiha-san," she said, bowing her head.

"I don't recall giving you my name."

Sakura raised her head. "That is why I only know half of it. I'm Haruno Sakura,"

"Uchiha Itachi."

Sakura turned her head to the tallest male, the one she was most curious about.

"Uchiha Shisui."

So he _was_ an Uchiha. A rather famous one, at that.

"So, why us?"

"Pardon?" Itachi asked.

"Why did you want your brother to play with us."

"I said he wanted to play with you,"

Sakura sent him an unimpressed look. "I know what you said."

Shisui chuckled. "I like this girl."

Sakura smiled. "Is Sasuke-san going to be joining the academy, too?"

Itachi nodded.

"Good! I've always wanted to spar an Uchiha," she said, giving the impish duo. Shisui chuckled once again, and Itachi cocked an eyebrow up as the corner of his lip pulled up. She had amused him.

"Oh, you think you're tough stuff, do ya, kid?"

She shrugged. "I'd liked to be. I try to practice, but its hard to tell how good you are on your own, you know? The Uchiha clan is reknown for its skilled fighters. If I can do okay against Sasuke, then I must be doing well."

"That is logical."

Sakura nodded. "I'm not bad that. I already know a jutsu."

"I am sure you will be an excellent sparring partner for my brother, then."

So far, Uchiha Itachi seemed nice. He had wanted his brother to get along with other kids. Or had he wanted an excuse to get close to Naruto? Was he already consorting with the Akatsuki? The Uchiha Massacre was not that far away. Sakura had always thought she was decent at reading people, but she wasn't getting psychopath from him, so the game must be messing with her senses.

"Hopefully we'll be good friends, too," she said, which seemed to make the Uchiha genuinely happy. She'd have to watch out for him.

"Nee-chan! Come look at my castle!"

"No, look at mine!"

Sakura grinned. "I can look at both, you know!" she shouted. "I'd better get over there before they find something else to argue about."

And with that, she took off sprinting across the playground. She wasn't fast enough to get there before the creature burst from the sand, and bite onto Naruto's ankle.

Chakra Mutated Sand Beetle

Level 10

100/100 HP

The boy let out a scream of pain as Sakura whipped a kunai out from underneath her rain coat, and chucked it as hard as she could at the giant beetle. Her blade slipped through one of the bug's wings, digging into its shell. The attack wasn't much, though. The other two kunai, however, both hit kill shots.

Critical Hit

Critical Hit

0/100 HP

Encounter Complete

+327 XP

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura yelled, covering the distance between them. The Uchiha got there first, pulling Sasuke away from the sandbox. Sakura grabbed Naruto, pulling him behind her, another blade in her hand. She scanned over the sand, looking for any signs of another bug, All she saw, however, was a game window over the downed beetle.

Loot

'Loot?'

$10 gained

Hard Beetle Shell gained

'What the fuck?'

"Why do you carry weapons?" Sasuke asked, sending her a glare. Was he jealous? He was! Too cute.

"They…" she trailed off, trying to find an answer with three pairs of dark, Uchiha eyes on her. "They were my mom's before she," she sniffled sadly, then her cheeks reddened. "I just like them, okay?" she snapped.

"Well, then," Shisiu said, bending down to retrieve the weapons from the corpse of the bug. "Here is yours back." He said, then threw it at her.

Without even thinking about it she reached out to grab it out of the air as if it were second nature to her. Which it was, but it shouldn't have been. 'Opps.' Sakura thought as she tucked her weapon away.

"See? I really like her. I should make her my student."

"Sasuke, these two will be your classmates. If you bring them over, I will spend time practicing with the three of you."

'Holy shit.'

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, peeking out from his spot behind Sakura, where she was holding him.

"You are supposed to give your name first," Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Who're you?" he demanded again. Sakura let go of Naruto to place a hand over her mouth as she giggled. He was trying.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, and this is my cousin Uchiha Shisui."

Just then, it started to ran. Sakura pulled up her hood, looking back to see Naruto do the same.

"Aw, looks like it is time to head home. Nice meeting you, kids. Say goodbye to your friends, Sasuke."

Sasuke pouted. "Bye." Did he not want to go?

"Maybe next time we can do something cooler." Sakura said. "See you in school, Sasuke-san."

"I never got your name." Sasuke said.

"Oh! Right. I'm Haruno Sakura. I hope we can be friends."

It started to rain harder, and Naruto started to grumble.

"Well, we should go. Take care. It was nice to meet you three."

And with that, Naruto started to drag her away.

"Its cold, Neechan!"

"Race you home!" And Sakura pulled her hand away to run ahead.

"Cheater!"

Sakura was pretty sure she heard Sasuke giggle.

+962 Faction with Uchiha Clan

+8105 Faction with Uchiha Itachi

+3810 Faction with Uchiha Sasuke

+10783 Faction with Uchiha Shisui

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five

Level - 2

Xp - 478/500

Health - 23/23

Chakra - 21/21

Mind – 16 (21)

Body – 14 (17)

Spirit - 12 (15)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Neutral : 0/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Neutral : 0/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto :Good Friend / Trusted: 50,561/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 22,212/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8105/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Acquaintance : 3,810/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 10,783/100,000

* * *

Sakura is starting to get attention for knowing more than she should. The Uchiha clan is familiar with geniuses, though, so Sakura won't be that much of a shock to them. Also, I wasn't sure how much Sakura knew about the Uchiha... issue. So, I decided that she only knew the basics. I didn't feel like looking it up, and I like it more this way. Tensions are brewing in the clan, Sakura only has half of the picture, and with the influence the game has on things she doesn't know what to think.


	5. Chapter 5

Later that night, the two orphans sat on the couch, going over one of their textbooks, Konohagakure History. Sakura read aloud, running her finger under the character's as she spoke. As long as the book didn't go too long without talking about a battle Naruto was able to pay attention; while clever, he had trouble paying attention. She figured it was because he was so energetic.

The pair was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Sakura slipped the book into Naruto's hands before crawling over to the arm of the couch, and leaning over to peek out the window.

An ANBU stood outside her door. She was used to having ANBU around her house since Naruto had moved in - she'd only ever spotted them a few times outside her window at night when she was having trouble sleeping - but was not used to them trying to talk to them. More bad news?

"I'll be right back, Naruto-kun," she said, pushing herself up off the couch to head to the door.

"Hello, ANBU-san. How can I help you?" she said after peeking her head out the now slightly opened door.

"A message for you from the Hokage. He needs a reply," the ANBU, a male, said, handing her a scroll.

Sakura unrolled it, scanning over the message. All the preparations were made. The funeral was set for tomorrow, if that suited her. She closed the scroll. "Thank you, Anbu-san. Could you tell him, 'yes' for me, please?"

"Of course. Have a good night, Haruno-san," the masked man spoke, before taking off into the darkening sky, jumping away on the roofs.

Sakura walked back to the living room to see Naruto flipping through the book, looking at pictures. He looked up when she got close to the couch, the smile slipping from his face as he looked into her eyes. "Sakura-nee?"

Sakura plopped down on the couch, and pulled Naruto into a hug.

"Nee-chan?" the boy asked again, "What's wrong?"

"I have to bury my parents tomorrow."

Uh. I," Naruto stammered out. "I…"

"Would that be something you would be willing to come to?"

"I'd go anywhere for you, Sakura-nee."

She smiled despite the tears rolling down her cheeks.

* * *

The pair had decided to sleep in the room at the end of the hall that night. Naruto had curled up against her side, and falled right to sleep. Sakura, however, couldn't seem to find any rest.

'Factions.'

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Neutral : 0/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Neutral : 0/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto : Good Friend / Trusted : 50,561/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 22,212/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8105/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Acquaintance : 3,810/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 10,783/100,000

She scanned over the names and numbers before closing out of the window - she didn't want time to be frozen for long. It was bizarre, really, to see that Uchiha Itachi had a positive, if only slightly, opinion of her. What did that mean? Had he liked seeing her attack the bug? Seeing someone kill something? Or had he liked seeing her attack something that was threatening to his brother? He had left Sasuke alive, afterall, but why? She didn't know. Had he loved his brother? Itachi had been considered a genius. It was well known that he had progressed quickly. Rumor had it, back when she was in school, that he had been ANBU. A preteen in that kid of lifestyle… It couldn't have been healthy. Is that why he snapped? Or had he had help from Tobi, Obito. Had Obito done something to Itachi to make him do what he did? Was there anyway she could ever find out the truth? All she knew was that she wanted to keep Sasuke safe.

She had faction with the Uchiha clan. Positive faction. Not enough to be of note, yet, but it meant her actions yesterday had been noticeable, and enough for a reaction from the entire clan. Was it because of the amount of people in the clan she had reacted with? Or was it who -the children of the clan head- she reacted with that had matter? So far, nothing she had done had seemed to make a big enough difference for any of the other group factions.

Why had the game brought them to her? Was this a hint of some sort? What could she possibly do? Their deaths were coming quickly, and she was stuck in a five year old body with a fraction of a fraction of her real abilities. How could she do anything when she was so weak?

She couldn't, but she could work to improve herself. Sakura slipped from Naruto's hold; a feat that was much easier than it had been the first time, before heading to the bathroom. She equipped her most athletic clothing, and her gear - shuriken and kunai. The clothes instantly appeared, as did the weapon pouch around her thigh. It had been her father's, but it fit her anyways when she equipped it from her inventory; which it did not do when she put it on by hand. Clothes shopping would be much easier if she didn't have to worry about size.

Stalling for time, since the ANBU were always watching, and it would be suspicious if she changed in mere seconds, Sakura turned to look at herself in the full length mirror on the door. She hadn't grown her hair out yet at this age, so it was its familiar length. She thought it looked rather cute, just as long as she didn't let her fringe get in her face like she had at that age. She figured if anyone had noticed that she had started styling it differently that they would attribute it to her losing her parents. Appearance changes were common with people dealing with loss. But then, no one had really known her, had they?

She was so short. It was unnerving, really. She seemed to be able to forget how tiny she was most of the time. She felt normal to herself, it was just everything else that was oversized. She figured it was thanks to the game that her mind was able to adjust to moving properly with everything in the wrong place. It was unnerving to see, though. Her regression clearly evident in the image on the mirror.

She wanted her power back.

Sakura slipped out of the room, then out of the house to the backyard. Then, under the light of the stars, and the ever present eyes of the anbu, she practiced. Hit, kick, punch. Again, and again. Hit, kick, punch.

For the first time she was awake for the game's autosave. It had been sometime around five, she guessed.

By morning her hands were raw, her muscles ached, and she had lost half of her HP.

She had also gained five levels in taijutsu, and three points in Body.

She only stopped when Naruto made his way outside. Upon seeing her hands he began to cry. She gained a level in persuasion calming him back down.

After bandaging her hands she made them a simple breakfast. After finishing it, Sakura was surprised to see a game window pop up.

+50 HP recovered from meal

Now that could useful. She wondered if food would stay fresh in her inventory. If so, she could grind cooking from actually cooking a lot, stick it in her inventory, then go hunting more freak bugs to gain experience, and money to pay for more food.

Now if only she knew someplace good to hunt things her level.

* * *

Naruto still looked like a light ball of sunshine while dressed in black. She wasn't sure she looked near as bright in her outfit, which mirrored his.

"Ready, nee-chan?" Naruto asked as they heard knocking at the door.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied with a small, wry smirk. Naruto lead her to the door, the two hand in hand, and opened it to reveal the Hokage. He was dressed in his ceremonial robes, and tailed by two ANBu.

"Ready, children?" he asked. This time Sakura just nodded in reply. He gave her an understanding look, and held a hand out to her, which she took. She two people who thought the highest of her then escorted her to the funeral.

* * *

She stood there, rose in hand, listening to the sound around her without really hearing.

It had been so easy for her to push the issue out of her mind the past few days, but now that it was time, she couldn't hide from the truth - they were gone. It was time to say goodbye.

So much of who she was was because her parents, despite her many attempts at seperating herself.

She used to get so sad when her father went on missions when she was little, and so whenever he came home, he would tell her about all the places he went to. She had always loved to stories of the faraway places he went to. Her father, a jounin, had been a diplomate, and so he was allowed access to some places where others had to creep through shadows. One day, he had brought her home a childrens book that was popular in another country, but not available in Konoha, as Sakura had been learning to read. It was a special book, not just because her father, who was the most amazing man she knew, had got it for her, but because she was the only one who had it. That made her feel special, when all the other children had made her feel so small. Sakura had always been a vain, temperamental person, and had been a mercurial child. Even little things had a big impact on her.

From then, she had always loved to read, and treasured the books her father had brought her, even when she had gotten older, and had been 'too cool' to show it.

So many of her most precious possessions would never be hers now.

Her mother had been what people called a 'career chuunin'. Someone who had no plans to progress passed that rank. She did jobs around the city, mostly, part time, and was a homemaker the rest of time. When Sakura had reached chuunin she had challenged her mother to a spar. The woman had accepted, and had promptly wiped the floor with her daughter, the apprentice of one of the sannin. Sakura learned that her mother had not always been a chuunin. In fact, when it came to power, Mebuki had been considered a greater fighter than her jounin husband. She had been in ANBU for a short time, but had given that all up when she got pregnaut with Sakura.

When Sakura had learned, the idea of being a homemaker like her mother had suddenly not seemed like such a bad thing. She could still work at the hospital when she had her family.

When things really started getting bad Sakura was mostly out of the village, but her parents still heard word of her growing power, and had told her how proud they were to have such a skilled kunoichi as a daughter.

Now she was determined to be even stronger than before. Determined to save everyone, but they would never see. They would never get to be proud of her.

It hurt, she hurt. The tears had made a steady stream down her cheeks seince the ceremony had started,

Naruto had never let go of her hand.

People had noticed,

-4962 Faction with Konoha Citizens

-4810 Faction with Konoha Ninja

Her silent crying became quite audible as a sob made its way passed her lips. Then another. This time it was Naruto who pulled her into a hug, and she held onto him like he was her lifejacket, and she was about to drown. Konoha be damned, they could think how they wanted.

* * *

Naruto watched as Sakura set the flower down on top of the closed casket. She was silent for a few moments, her hands clasped together, her head down. Then she stepped away, and it was his turn.

Naruto stepped forwards, and set his flower down. He didn't really know what he was supposed to do. He wasn't sure he really understood all this. This was Sakura's parents. He knew what parents were, sorta. People who brought kids into the world. People who kepted thier kids safe, and made them happy. People he had never had, and now Sakura didn't have either, now.

"Thank you, for nee-chan. She is the best thing to ever happen to me," he spoke, for once in a quiet voice. 'I'll keep her safe for you. I promise,' he finished silently. Then he too stepped away to find Nee-chan's hand again. Eventually the caskets were lowered into the ground, and he got to take Nee-chan home.

* * *

Sleeping has partially restored your HP and CP. Some status effects have been removed,

'Apparently I have to sleep for a certain amount of time for the full effect,' she thought, sitting up. Her hands barely hurt anymore, but she'd leave the bandages on for a few more days. She had gone to sleep not long after getting home. It was still light out her window, so she figured it was around four. Naruto would be hungry soon. She wasn't, but she'd make food anyways. She could just pack hers in her inventory for later. Plus, that way she could see if it would keep that way.

She made her way downstairs, and pulled the bag of rice out of the cupboard. No meal was complete without rice. Especially because it was so affordable.

Sometime later she had a nice meal set out on the table for Naruto, and one packed away in her inventory for her. She had pretended to place it in the refrigerator, then, once it was blocked from sight by her body, she thought it into her inventory.

"I'm heading out," she told the blonde as he sat down at the table. She felt too volitile, unstable, to be around him. She had steadily been building up a good relationship with him, and she did not want to lose it in a moment of misplaced anger. "I'll be okay, don't worry. I've got my blades on me," she told him upon seeing the look on his face at her words. "Eat up. School is soon, so you need to have plenty of energy. I'll clean up when I get home. Take care." She stopped to give the boy a quick one armed hug on her way out.

From there, she wandered, letting her feet take her where they would. Down a street, across an alley. She wandered, and she roamed, halfheartedly looking for something to fight. Enemies would be more likely to find in the forest, but she didn't really care. If the game wanted to give her a fight, it would. She just needed to be by herself, where she wouldn't have to worry about Naruto.

She walked for so long, that they game decided to award her a point in Body.

"Oh ho, if it isn't the demon's little bitch?" she heard a slurred voice say from somewhere in front of her. She looked up to see a man who seemed to be somewhere in this late thirties leaning against a wall a bit aways ahead of her. "I'd remember that hair. Saw it today at the funeral. Your pa and I used to be friends," the intoxicated man. She could tell he was drunk plain as day, but the window above his head helped too.

Drunken Retired Genin

LV 15

100%/100% HP

It wasn't a fight she could win easily, if at all.

"He'd be ashamed to see his baby girl hanging out with trash. You make me sick. Imma beat some sense into you, kid." And with that, he charged forward as Sakura sunk into a defensive stance.

He was fast, but his blow was sloppy, and she was able dance under the blow, planting a blow against his ribcage, taking five percent of his damage.

"Back off, old man!" Sakura yelled after hit, hoping that the pain would discourage him.

It didn't.

With a bellow the man pivoted his body, swinging his arm to backhand Sakura. He came on faster than she expected, and took the full force of the blow against her head. The attack sent her flying back to smash against the brick wall her attacker had been reclining against just moments ago.

You were critically hit.

-20 HP

You now have the Dazed debuff.

She was down to 20HP, and she couldn't see straight. Her ears were ringing, and her head ached. He was going to kill her, whether he meant to or not. She couldn't die. Not know. She pulled a blade from beneath her shirt as the man reached her, and stabbed it forward, blindly aiming towards were he was. She felt her strike hit. She wasn't sure he even felt it in his drunken state as she didn't hear any reaction from him. She certainly felt his punch to her stomach, though.

-8 HP

She coughed up blood with his blow. She was going to die. She was going to die, and she was going to have to do it all over again. "N-no," she choked out as the man's hands closed around her throat, cutting off her breathing. She fumbled for another blade, her hands unsteady. She plunged it into him again, and again. She knew he felt it this time, because he lifted her from the wall to slam her back against it.

-5 HP

-2 HP

She couldn't breathe. She was starting to suffocate. Her HP ticking down every few seconds her body was denied air. Her vision began to darken. Then she heard something. Something hot was on her, covering her face. She could breathe. She gasped for air, finding herself on the ground. He had let her go?

"Sakura? Can you hear me?

She knew that voice. Who was it?

"Itachi? What the-" The second voice grew louder, someone was coming, but then cut off.

She could see now. The drunk was on the ground next to her. A blade was in his back.

Encounter Complete!

+904 XP Earned

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

HP and CP restored

She started to push herself up.

"Hey kid, don't move," she heard the second voice - Shusui, she could place it now - say. She ignored it, and pushed up so she was sitting back on her calves. She looked up at Sasuke's older brother, who looked back down at her. He looked concerned. Or maybe he only looked that way from the fading Dazed effect.

"You saved me," she said, her voice full of wonder.

"Of course." he said simply.

"Its okay, kid. We're the good guys."

Sakura giggled hysterically. Uchiha Itachi was not a good guy.

"Come on," Shisui said, gently scooping her up. "We need to get you to the hospital."

"No!" Sakura protested. "No, I have to get home! My brother must be worried."

"We have to take you to the hospital. It is protocol. Then we must report this to the Hokage."

"It'll be okay, Sakura-chan. I promise," Shisui said in what she assumed was supposed to be a soothing voice.

She had been attacked. Itachi had seen the man choking her. She had her blood on herself. And his. If they went to the hospital they would know something was not right. She had beaten her training post until her hands bled. They would be healed now. The ANBU had saw. She wasn't supposed to tell. This was _not_ going to be okay.

She needed a cover.

"I can heal. I don't need a doctor." 'Do it. Do it. Remember. Someone had to make the jutsu the first time. You can do it now. You just have to focus. It isn't even really a jutsu. No handsigns. Its just chakra. Just chakra. Focus."

Her hands started to glow blue.

'Focus. Healing. Growth. Healing. Focus.'

Her hands started to glow green.

Ability Created

Mystical Palm

+5% Spirit

+10% Chakra Control

+10% Medical Jutsu Healing

'Yeah! We did it! Shannaro!'

She pushed the chakra through her body. It wasn't doing anything, she knew, but they would be able to feel it, the chakra filling her body.

"I don't like doctors. They don't do it right. Can't you just take me to the Hokage? He is my legal guardian. Please, Uchiha-san?"

They agreed.

Sakura gave one last look to the body. It had a loot window over it.

'Loot.'

$23 Gained

Roll of Condoms Gained

Opened Pack of Cigarettes Gained

Kami Coin Gained

'Seriously?'

* * *

The Hokage decided she still had to go to the hospital for a check up, but asked her to show him her jutsu before she went. He asked her further questions, and so Sakura was forced to lie, and answer that she had always remembered know how to do it, but she had to be careful, else it would just make things worse. He decided to escort her to the hospital himself. Shisui had not wanted to part with her, but had promised that he would see her soon. That was nice. She thought that perhaps he hadn't been joking about teaching her, afterall. The Hokage brought up the topic of learning more about her gift by taking lessons from real medic nin. She had agreed, and he had set her up with an appointment with a doctor before taking her home. Somehow, she had gained faction with all three of the males that night. Perhaps they thought she would be useful.

Naruto had fallen asleep on the couch, waiting for her. The Hokage carried him up to his room. Sakura cleaned herself up in the shower, - the whole being covered in blood thing was nothing new, but still gross enough that she scrubbed herself down for a while- equipped her nightgown, then crawled into bed with her best friend.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five (17)

Level - 4

Xp - 132/10,000

Health - 44/44

Chakra - 35/35

Mind – 18 (30)

Body – 20 (33)

Spirit - 15 (21)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Unfriendly : -4962/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Unfriendly : -4810/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto :Good Friend / Trusted: 50,561/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 23,322/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8209/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Acquaintance : 3,810/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 11,618/100,000

* * *

A less funny, happy chapter. Things are slowly building up in intensity. She was told she would have a rough time of things, and we are starting to see that now. This is a fic about friendship, though, so I'll try it even between the strife and the happy feels.

Technically, Sakura was just 'power-leveled'. She fought opponents far above her skill level, and won with the help of others. She only gained a third of the actual XP for the beetle fight because there was three combatants, and half for the drunk fight as there were two. Still, she earned a lot of experience. Lucky her for having someone around. We'll see if she is so lucky next time.


	6. Chapter 6

Sleeping has restored your HP and CP. All status effects have been removed,

The first thing Sakura heard upon waking was, "Sakura-nee, I have to go potty." She opened her eyes to find her face was buried against the blanket over Naruto's shoulder. She had slept above the covers, and it had been cold. She had instinctively moved close to something warm in her sleep, and so had draped herself over Naruto.

"Oh," she said, rolling off of him, and sitting up. "Sorry, Naruto-kun," she said as the boy swiftly slipped out of bed. His little feet moving him quickly out of the room. Sakura giggled. He was too adorable.

She too moved off of the bed, before heading to her own bedroom. She picked out an outfit for the day, and, after closing herself in her closet, equipped it. The dress - a grey jumper- had been old, so would have been small, but fit perfectly thanks to the game. Sure, this whole thing tried to kill her sometimes, but it did have its perks. She kept her legs warm with a pair of thick brown tights, and a pair of grey socks.

After dressing she headed down to the kitchen, and was soon joined by Naruto. "Any requests?" she asked, opening a cupboard.

"Ramen!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How about ramen for lunch?" she offered instead.

"Yeah!" he replied, cheerful as ever.

Sakura smiled as she set about getting breakfast ready, earning another level in cooking while doing so. As they ate their meal the pair went over etiquette, and how to act in social situations. Naruto had never really been good at communicating back in school, and she hoped she might be able to help him with that.

"But most importantly, just be yourself. Sometimes its okay to slip on all the rules. No matter what anyone else says, or thinks, I'll have your back." Because, while it seemed like it would be rather easy, surprisingly enough, to teach Naruto how to act properly, he wouldn't really be Naruto without a bit of inappropriateness.

"And I've got yours, Nee-chan!"

She was fairly certain that if Naruto had a Faction bar for her, it would be maxed out already. He was always so cheerful. He was her ray of light, always giving her a smile. She wondered if he would still smile for her if he knew she had helped kill someone last night,

She thought not.

She felt that smile slip from her face, and watched as Naruto's mood shifted as hers did. He could be perceptive. Damn it, she didn't want to upset him. She just needed time to think. She just needed time to stop.

'Inventory.'

And time stopped.

She had killed before. Not a lot, maybe, compared to most, but she was comfortable with killing; not that she would want to admit something like that, though.

She was also a medic. She had taken an oath. Sure, no one else remembered it, but she did, and that still mattered to her.

She had murdered a civilian of Konohagakure. She had almost been murdered by a civilian. She had bled for these people. She had died for them. She had murdered someone with the help of a man who would soon massacre his whole family.

Was he really a bad person? Had he wanted to kill her? Or was he just some puppet of the Kami? Did she murder someone who had no control of himself?

Was he even real? He could have just been someone the game made up. He hadn't had a name like Ami had. But then, she had known Ami's name, and she didn't know his, if he had one. Perhaps that was why he had no name above his title. But perhaps he had a wife, kids, a family.

She had wanted a fight. She had gotten one.

She felt like a monster. She had never wanted to hurt anyone, but she also felt satisfaction in the fact he was dead. He had tried to kill her. Real, or no, he was a monster too. The Kami never would have made someone do something out of character. She prayed that was true.

Speaking of Kami… She looked over her inventory till she found the item she was thinking of - the Kami Coin. 'What the hell is this.'

Kami Coin

The currency used in the Kami Shop.

Earned from trying situations.

Can also be found in random places around the world.

'Kami Shop'

Kami Shop is currently unavailable.

'Lovely.' Sakura would have rolled her eyes if she had control of her body.

Her attention shifted from the screen in front of her face to the boy behind it. He had supported Sasuke through everything; he had never given up on him. She hoped that this Naruto would do the same for her.

She decided that today she would make sure they have a good day. They'd play games, and have fun. No game, no nonsense. She'd forget about everything except being his big sister.

She closed the inventory, and smiled at the blonde across from her.

"Wanna do something fun?"

Naruto was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Quest Started

Shuishin Senpai - Friend or Foe

-Answer the Door

'So much for that...'

"Oh! Maybe its Jii-jii!" Naruto yelled as he launched himself towards the door. Sakura let out a growl of annoyance as she followed.

'This had better be good.' she thought as Naruto threw open the door - she'd have to talk to him about safety later.

"Hey kiddos!" Sakura was surprised to see Shusui outside her door.

"Eh? What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm here to check up on-" Shusui started, but cut off when Sakura started shaking her head, and waving her hands in front of herself.

"On what?" Naruto questioned, oblivious to Sakura's actions.

"On whether you two want to be my students, of course. Normally I'd be sparring with my cousin, but all he wants to do lately is missions and train with his brother, so I am left out. So what do you say?"

-Accept Training 

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

"I would like that a lot, Uchiha-sensei." Sakura said, grinning. Perfect, she could train, and keep Naruto happy. It was a win win. Plus, with Naruto's ever present, and always hidden, guards she wouldn't have to worry about Shusui doing something shifty. Though, it would probably be best to play it safe. 'Save Game in Slot Two. Rename Pretraining Trip.'

Game Saved

"So, first things first. What do you two think would be a good way to train?"

"Fight bad guys!"

"We could play hide and go seek, or tag," Sakura suggestion.

"Eh, Nee-chan, those are kid games."

"Ah, yes, but how could those games help someone train to be a ninja, Naruto-kun?"

"Eh, well, ninjas gotta be sneaky, right?" Sakura's lips twitched up in amusement at the thought of Naruto being sneaky. "And you gotta be sneaky in hide and go seek! Oh, and it would help you learn to find sneaky people too. Tag makes you run, and fighting makes you move too, so I guess that it would help you get more, uhm, speed?"

Sakura beamed in pride for her little knucklehead.

"Correct! Now, for your first year you won't be getting into much of the complicated stuff, but having more stamina, and speed, will go a long way in your spars, which you will be doing a lot of. For now, you are going to want to train what you are working on in school. I am not going to step on your teacher's toes. However, if you prove that you can do well in school I will teach you both a ninjutsu, deal?"

"Hai Sensei!" Sakura chirped as Naruto fist pumped, and said "Hell yeah!"

"So, for today lets play tag. Now, to be really good in tag you not only have to be fast, but you also have to be smart. You can try to trick your opponents, make them think you are going to go one way when you are really going to go another. So, who wants to be it?"

"Not it!" both soon to be Academy Students yelled.

Shusui grinned. "Get running then, kiddos."

And with a squeal of delight they did just that.

* * *

That morning Sakura gained a total of three points in Body, and one in Mind.

After their games Shusui offered to take them out to lunch, and happily agreed to Naruto's request for ramen.

On one hand, Sakura was happy the two had found someone so kind. And on the other, Sakura was highly suspicious. He couldn't be trying to harm them because of the ANBU guards; which she was sure the Uchiha noticed. So what was his angle? Was he trying to get close to Naruto? With his eyes he could control the Kyuubi. Just how advanced was his sharingan, anyways?

"Something wrong?" Shusui asked Sakura. She hadn't realised she was staring.

"Why are you being so nice?" Sakura asked after a few moments. Children were known for being blunt. She could use that.

"Honestly," he started after a few moments of contemplation, "I am doing this partially for Sasuke. He, well, he is going to need friends. My clan, well all clans tend to stick together, but there is no one his age, really, from our clan. He will be the only person in his class that will be an Uchiha. People in clans like mine tend to be segregated from the others. Thats just the way it is. I don't want that for him. Its sad. So, I guess I want you two to feel comfortable around us, so you can bond with him."

Sakura felt like he was being honest, but then, in this world you could not always trust your senses - especially not with Uchihas. Though, it seemed completely possible that the game could set them up with someone else who could help them in a village full of unfriendly faces. He had a quest. That had to mean something.

"Plus, you seem special, kid," he said, grinning at Sakura. "You both do," he quickly added before Naruto's pout could fully form. "I've always dreamed of having a genin team. This will be good for all of us."

She really hoped he was the person he seemed to be. Though, it would be tragic for Naruto to get attached to someone only to lose them. Perhaps there was a way to keep both him and Sasuke safe during the massacre? Perhaps the Kami was giving her a chance to save someone else who had caught her attention. That made sense.

She let herself return the Uchiha's smile. "Yeah, I think it will be real good."

Quest Complete : Shuishin Senpai - Friend or Foe

227 XP Earned

+2576 Faction With Shisui

* * *

That evening they went over reading from the textbooks. Naruto let her go over things that he deemed less exciting, but was able to keep himself focused. The possibility of a ninjutsu for good grades really help him channel his energy into learning. It also let Sakura gain a level in Mind. She knew all the information already -only things combat based seemed to have been taken from her- but it seemed that just studying in itself helped. Perhaps she would check out the library for more complex, and unknown things to see if that helped her gain points faster.

Sakura got them both to bed early. She couldn't wait to see her former classmates tomorrow.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Age - Five (17)

Level - 4

Xp - 359/1,000

Health - 70/70

Chakra - 53/53

Mind – 20 (33)

Body – 23 (38)

Spirit - 15 (21)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Unfriendly : -4962/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Unfriendly : -4810/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto :Good Friend / Trusted: 50,561/100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 23,322/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8209/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Acquaintance : 3,810/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 14,194/100,000

* * *

Seems like filler, and I suppose it is, but this chapter is setting things up.

Next chapter is the academy!


	7. Chapter 7

Konoha was in ruins. The streets had been blasted to rubble, and the buildings were burning. The air was scorching; it hurt to breathe. She felt her lungs dying from the soot and heat she inhaled. Yet inhale she did, pulling in breath after breath. Her body ached, she could feel her blood on her skin. It felt so wrong. Still, she pushed herself forward, step after step, running on and on for what seemed like an eternity. She wanted so badly to stop, to give up. She hurt so badly. She just wanted to it to stop. She knew all she had to do was to stop running, and she would be free of the pain. The flames were licking at her back, burning her. If she stopped, they'd destroy her in moments.

She was still needed, though, so she ran on. If she could get there in time it would be okay. Of that she was certain.

With a flash of glee she veered to the side, down the alleyway - her goal. It looked so familiar. Why?

She stopped, a scream tearing from her lips. She had been too late. She watched as the dead man struck Naruto's head from his neck. Little Naruto, only a boy. The man she only knew as the Retired Genin grinned at her as Naruto's body slumped to the ground.

"Sakura."

She knew that voice! It was the Kami. She could fix this. Give her another chance.

Sakura whirled to face to speaker, and found herself staring at the face of Kaguya.

"No-" Sakura started, but was cut off by the woman's hand plunging into her chest. She felt that hand wrap itself around her heart, and pull. Everything went black, except for the words 'Game Over' that flashed into her vision.

"Sakura!"

Someone was screaming. Her throat hurt.

Someone was next to her, shaking her.

_'Danger.'_

She lashed out at her attacker as hard as she could, pushing herself up from her lying position, her eyes flying open. She heard Naruto cry out in pain.

'Naruto?'

Power Strike has gained a level.

-2498 Faction lost with Uzumaki Naruto

No one was screaming anymore. She was breathing heavily, and fast. Naruto was on the floor, looking up at her with tear filled eyes, his expression confused, and wary. His right cheek was reddening.

She had hit him.

"Oh, Naruto! I am so sorry," she choked out, sobbing, as she pushed herself out of bed. "I'm so sorry. So, so sorry." The words rushed out of her mouth as she pushed herself to her knees in front of the fallen boy.

The wary look was gone from his face.

"Its okay, Sakura-nee," he spoke, his voice soft.

She raised her hand to hover over his cheek before coating it in healing green chakra.

"What's that, Nee-chan?" Naruto questioned incredulously as the chakra soothed his pain.

"Medic ninjutsu. At least thats what the people at the hospital called it. I've been able to do it for as long as I can remember," she lied. She wondered if he would remember her bloody fists from a few days prior, but if he did he didn't mention it.

"Cool!"

"There," she said as she moved her hand away from Naruto's healed skin. "All better. Forgive me?"

"Of course. It was an accident."

The lost faction was not returned, however, though she waited. Her eyes began to sting, and so she forced herself to smile.

"I'll go make breakfast." And with that she stood, and hurried from the room, leaving her former best friend - now just a friend - behind.

* * *

_'This feels wrong.' _She told herself as she stood outside the academy in the crowd, listening to the Hokage speak words she had heard once before. She looked around at all the familiar faces.

_'Deja vu,'_ She thought with a shiver. Perhaps it was the dream, but this all seemed so wrong to her. Her eyes found Ino in the crowd. Their eyes met for a second, but the blonde's gaze moved on. She hadn't noticed Sakura as all. She was just a nobody to her. She was just a nobody to everyone here.

It hurt.

_'They're all gone.'_ She squeezed her eyes shut, letting her head hang. The long bangs she had taken to wearing pushed to the sides of her face fell forward to cover her forehead, shading her face.

A warm hand grabbed her own.

_'Naruto.'_ But he wasn't her Naruto. What was she going to do?

_'Make them proud.'_

She lifted her head, and opened her eyes, turning to look at the blonde beside her.

_'I am here to make this right. To make everything right. I'll make them who they always wanted to be. I'll be who I always wanted to be. Don't be so pathetic!'_

A smile made its way to her lips at her self admonishment.

"You ready, Naruto-kun?"

He grinned at her, and nodded.

"Congratulations! You are now all Academy Students. Good luck!" The Hokage spoke, setting off a text box from the game.

Tutorial Complete!

Title Gained : Academy Students

Daily Quest Unlocked

Faction Quests Unlocked

Dungeons Unlocked

Kami Shop Unlocked

Map Unlocked

The game difficulty has been increased to Normal.

At the top right of her vision a small semi transparent map appeared, showing her location and her nearby settings. It didn't show much, though.

_'Map.'_

At her thought the map grew to take up her entire vision. The game freezing as it did so. Most of the map was semi uncovered, but outside of the bounds of the village everything was covered in a grey fog. The places in the village she had visited since her reincarnation had no fog, and had name tags over places. The rest of the village was covered in a semi opaque fog. She could see the features, but nothing was titled.

One spot of the map caught her attention.

? Dungeon

It was located at her house. _'How convenient.'_

_'Close Map.'_

To the right of her vision, halfway between the map and bottom, was a check list.

Daily Quest

Complete at least five of the following :

Train Ability for One Hour (limit of three)

Train Underneath Mentor for One Hour (limit of three)

Mentor Someone for One Hour (limit of three)

Attend School

Complete All School Work

Complete Quest for Faction (limit of ten)

Complete Dungeon Quest (limit of ten)

Defeat Dungeon (limit of three)

'Interesting. I wonder what the reward is.' However, no message came up to inform her. 'I guess I'll find out.'

"Come on, Sakura-chan!" Naruto spoke, dragging her towards the now open door of the school. She followed, hand in hand, as they were lead to their classroom by a chunnin. Naruto found them an empty row, and they both took a seat; Sakura in the middle, and Naruto at her right. She looked around at the other students milling about to find seats, and spotted Sasuke near the back of the room. Their eyes made contact, and she waved him over. His chin went up, and he continued to peer around for an open seat. She presumed one where he wouldn't have to sit near someone at akk, as he eventually made his way over to the seat next to her. Perhaps he had been trying to play it cool? That seemed to fit.

"Hey Sasuke-kun!" she greeted the dark haired boy as he took his seat. "Its good to see you again," she added, cheerfully.

"Yeah, good to see yah," Naruto said right after her.

The teacher spoke before Sasuke could get a word in, so the Uchiha chose to simply nod in reply.

It was good enough for her.

The teacher introduced himself, then passed out syllables, and then, since most couldn't read, went over it aloud for them. It was very dull. Afterwards they started on learning to read and write. That too was very dull. Sakura was having to recite medical facts to keep herself from falling asleep. It seemed like forever and a day until they were released for lunch. Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all ate their bentos together.

"Oh, you brought rice balls too, Sasuke-kun? Who made them?" Sakura asked, attempting to make small talk with the quiet boy before they started eating.

"My mother made them for me. She makes the best rice balls!" he answered, smiling as he spoke about his mom.

"Nuh-uh, Nee-chan makes the best!" Naruto argued.

"Why don't we test it?" Sakura suggested before the obviously annoyed Sasuke could reply. "You both give me a rice ball. I'll cut each into half, then you can try both, and tell me which one is best. Only I'll know which is which, so it'll be fair. Deal?"

Both boys agreed, and soon they were munching at the rice. The decision was unanimous : both boys liked hers, but Mikoto's were clearly superior.

Naruto sputtered when he found out the conclusion. "No way! I must've said the wrong one. I liked the one with the fish."

"That was Sasuke's mother's," Sakura said, with a small giggle. "There is no shame in being beat by someone older than me. I still want to get better though! I'll just have to practice until I'm as good as her."

"I wanna learn too," Sasuke said. "Hey, maybe my mom can teach us! I'll ask if you guys can come over when she comes to pick me up after class. Do you guys have to ask your parents? Are they coming to school too?"

"Uh," Naruto started, shooting Sakura a wary look. He'd never seen anyone ask about her parents before.

Sakura let out a nervous laugh, and shook her head. "Ah, no. We're orphans. My parents were killed on missions recently. Naruto's parents, um," she trailed off, looking over at Naruto. She wasn't supposed to know anything about his parents.

"I never met them," Naruto finished. "I don't know anything about them."

"Oh." Sasuke said, then was quiet for a moment as he processed the information. "Well, anyways, if you guys want I'll asked. Maybe my Nii-san will be home, and will train with us. He is a high ranking ninja, you know. He's very strong."

"Oh? Tell us about him?" Sakura asked, and so Sasuke did. He talked, and talked; he spoke right up until the teacher asked them to quiet down. Sakura was sure he wouldn't have eaten his food at all if she hadn't reminded him to – he took to Sakura's gentle chiding easily as he was used to following a woman's orders already.

After lunch they started on math. Simple stuff. The teacher went over some concepts, then handed out worksheets, and told them to raise their hand if they had a question. They started to fill them out, but soon the boys came across something they did not understand, and raised their hands. The teacher went from person to person who had their hands up, and helped them. He stopped by Sasuke, then carried on to someone on the other side of the room, ignoring Naruto altogether. Sakura leaned over to see what Naruto as stuck on, and to offer help. Before she could get more than a few words out the teacher said, "No talking."

After Naruto was passed over again he put his hands down, and did what he could.

Sakura was furious. After class ended, and the trio started to head out, Sakura spoke. "I forgot that I had to do something. Why don't you go with him, Naruto? You two can have fun while I take care of the boring stuff. You wouldn't be able to come with me anyways. If his parents say you can't come over then just wait outside the Hokage's office for me, okay?" And before Naruto could protest she dashed away from the two, making her way to the Hokage's office. She made a brief stop at the secretary's office before she was sent in.

"Sakura-chan? How can I help you?" the elderly shinobi asked as he set aside his paperwork.

"The teacher won't help Naruto! He told us to raise our hand if we had questions, but purposely ignored Naruto. He passed by him twice! I know he saw him. When I tried to help him he wouldn't let me talk." Sakura said, her words coming out in a rush. She sniffled at the end, fighting to hold in tears. "You should fire him. He is a bad teacher."

The Hokage sighed, and steepled his fingers in front of his face. "Do you think that another teacher would be better to Naruto?" he asked after a moment.

Sakura too took a few minutes to find her answer. "No. No one is kind to Naruto. Why is that, Hokage-sama?"

Again the man sighed. "It is not something I can speak of. The village, they, well, they are judging Naruto on something that concerns him that he has no control of. It isn't something he did, mind you, but they blame him anyways."

"So, you can't fix this?"

Another sigh. "I'm afraid not. Not really. I will speak to this teacher of yours, though, about you. I'll make it clear that I don't want the two of you separated. Though, you know this might affect you badly as well, don't you?"

Sakura nodded. "You could tell him that I'm to keep an eye on Naruto. That, maybe, I'm there to keep him from upsetting the other students, and that he is not to interfere as long as we are not bothering the class. I, well, I don't mean to brag, but I am good at the school stuff. I can just study a bit harder, and then I can help Naruto-kun. If the teacher doesn't like him, then maybe he will be happy that he won't have to deal with him, and leave us alone."

The Hokage silently considered her words, then nodded. "That seems wise to me," he spoke, then a small smile made its way onto his face. "You really care about Naruto, don't you?"

"I-" she started, "I do. Sometimes he is a bit too hyper, but he is more kind than anyone I have met before. I really feel lucky to have met him."

"Good, I am glad."

He made some more small talk: asking how the two were doing, how their budget was going, and other topics like that. Soon they were say their goodbyes, and Sakura left the office. A popup message informed her that she had earned Faction with the Hokage. Naruto was not waiting outside for her. She knew that he would be watched, and so he was safe. She couldn't help but to feel a bit worried anyways. She contemplated trying to find him, but figured it would be wise to use her free time to get something productive done. She had attended school, and, as they had not been assigned any homework, gotten all her school work done, and so had two of the five requirements for her daily quest complete. Still, two requirements in about seven hours was pretty bad. She figured that she would be able to get a lot more done on school days, which, she thought, might give her a better reward as the quest said at least, and not only, which meant she could possibly overachieve the quest, and get a better reward. She hoped that was how it worked, anyways.

With her mind made up the pink haired Academy Student made her way home, intent on finding the dungeon. She considered it lucky that she had decided to bring her bag to her room, instead of leaving it downstairs or else it would have taken her much longer to find the entrance to the dungeon.

Still, she was bewildered to find that the dungeon was somehow inside her closet. At least that was how it seemed with the Leveler's Tower : Dungeon sign hovering in front of her door.

_'Here goes nothing.'_ she thought as she reached out to open the door.

Access Dungeon?

_'No?'_ she thought before opening the door to see her closet still very much intact. She closed the door, then went to open it again.

Access Dungeon?

_'Yes.'_ she thought, then opened the door. Her closet was no longer there. What was there, however, looked like a swirling nexus of colors. A horizontal whirlpool of light.

_'Save slot three.'_

Game Saved

And with that she stepped into the light.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Academy Student

Age - Five (17)

Level - 4

Xp - 359/1,000

Health - 70/70

Chakra - 53/53

Mind – 20 (49)

Body – 23 (55)

Spirit - 15 (26)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Unfriendly : -4962/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Unfriendly : -4810/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto : Friends / Trusted: 48,062 /100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 29,596/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8,209/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Postive / Curious : 5,840/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 14,194/100,000


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is a bit odd, I suppose. I really loved writing it. Really, really, but I want to know if you guys liked it. So please, let me know how you feel about it.

I have a poll up about it. Vote? Review? I'd appreciate any feedback.

* * *

At first it seemed as if the light of the portal had blinded her, but all at once things started appearing before her. It didn't look as if her vision was clearing, but instead it looked as if the landscape before her was materializing before her eyes. As in, it had not been there before. The world was growing before her.

"What is this place?" Sakura wondered allowed.

"The Leveler's Tower." she heard a familiar voice say. The last time she had heard that voice her heart had been ripped out. She whirled around, crouching into a defensive stance.

The person behind her was not Kaguya. 'Of course it isn't. That was only a dream,' she scolded as she straightened up. "My apologizes," she murmured, embarrassed.

"I did not mean to startle you, Haruno-san," that Kami replied gently. "This place is the training grounds I have prepared for you. Do not mistake this as a gift, however. This place will challenge you. It will push you to your limits. It may even break you, if you let it. However, if you accept the challenge, this place will forge you into a weapon, into the shinobi you need to be to survive what is to come in your world."

Sakura had no words. She had been frustrated, really, with how limited she had been. How could she train herself to be stronger if she were to pass as a child?

"The time you spend her will not affect your world, of course. You can live her until you are an old woman, but when you leave, and you will leave, you will be back to when and where you were before you entered. Now, what you see about you is only level one. There are many levels, each more challenging than the last; though more rewarding as well. To move on from each level you must complete the challenge given to you. That challenge might be to gain a level, to survive a certain amount of time, or even to kill a set amount. Each floor has its own set of, lets say, rules. On one floor you might be able to earn experience at an accelerated rate, but on another you might not be able to earn any at all. Sometime you will be given a group of allies, and sometimes you might be alone. There are many riches here that will help you in your journey, but, those items may not follow you from this realm. You will die here, most likely. You have a certain amount of lives for each visit - you can not save in the dungeon. After that, you must leave, and the dungeon will be placed on cooldown before you can enter again. Now, I will generate the rules for this level."

-75% Combat XP Gain

Maximum of 2 Level Gainable

2 Starter Companions

Limit of 2 Lives

"Now, let me spawn your companions."

Before Sakura appeared two figures. One was small, child-like, in height, but mature in their features. The female had thick, wild hair the color of copper, and her eyes hazel. Her garb was leather, and she wore a sword belted at her hip.

"This is Laze, a Gnomish Bard." the Kami said, motioning to the tiny woman.

The second was female as well, and shared the same eye color, but that was where the two's similarities ended. This person stood at what seemed to be slightly below what was the average height, perhaps around four foot. What she could see of the woman's body seemed slender, which only made the woman's set of full plate armor seem that much more out of place. The woman's hair was silver, and her features alien. Her face was all sharp angles, and slanted. She was beautiful, in her stranger, foreign way.

"And this is Mirianye, an Elven Cleric."

Nameplates for both appeared above them as the Kami spoke. They also gained a place in her party bar. Both females were unmoving. In fact, nothing but she and the Kami moved. Everything else was frozen in place.

"Now, for this level your quest is to assist Laze in searching for her familiar."

Quest Started

Down the Rabbit Hole

Rescue Jorda from the Kobold Camp

Reward : 1 Level, Random Wonderous Item Reward

"Do you have any questions, Haruno-san?"

Sakura shook her head.

"One more thing, then. You will not have factions here. Instead, you will have Morality. Your Morality reflects how others will act towards you. If you are Good, then others that are Good will trust you, but those that are Evil will want to kill you. If you are Evil, then some that are Evil may work with you, but those that are Good will likely seek to Kill you on site. For now, you will be true Neutral. That may change, however, based upon your actions. Now, you may begin. Though, might I suggest you put in the points from the last two levels you gained."

The Kami faded from sight, and everything else came to life. A small breeze granted movement to the trees, and grass. Her companions began to move. She knew them, suddenly. At least somewhat. She could remember meeting them, agreeing to help them on their quest. It was strange, but helpful.

'Stats.'

The world froze again.

Mind – 20 (33)

Body – 23 (38)

Spirit - 15 (21)

Bonus - 26

'Stupid.' she scolded herself. She had completely forgotten about leveling up. 'Well, you did almost die,' she reminded herself. 'Mirianye is going to be at the front lines, doing most of the damage. Laze is like me, though. She has some spells, but can also be a melee fighter. Putting points into Body would help us in a fight. However, putting points into Mind and Spirit would help us in the downtime. Plus, if I have more chakra I can use Power Strike more often. Anyways, Mind will help me out more in the long run. So, I'll bring Spirit and Body up to 25 each, which leave me with fourteen points to put into mind.'

Mind - 34 (56)

Body - 25 (41)

Spirit - 25 (35)

'Accept. Close stats.'

"Alright," Laze spoke, "According to my map, we should be nearing their camp. It'll be tricky sneaking in there with Miss Clank over here," Mirianye let out a snort of amusement at this, "So we'll have to go with a full on assault. That won't be a walk in the park, either; This is a large camp. They have patrols scouting the area. I think Guerilla tactics might work best. We'll have to chip away at their defences, bit by bit, and retreat to recover. Alright?"

Sakura and Mirianye both nodded in reply.

"I'll take the lead," Mirianye spoke. "Sakura, do as much damage as we can, but do your best to save your energy to mend any wounds we receive. Make sure we get out of this alive."

Another curt nod from Sakura, and the trio set off into the lush forest. The forest was teeming with life. Plants she had never seen, nor heard of grew in abundance around them. Hints of animal life was everywhere. If not for the experience debuff it would have been a wonderful place for her to hunt.

It wasn't long before they came across a scout party. A small one, only four. The Kobolds were the strangest thing Sakura had ever seen before. They were small like Laze and herself, but they were reptilian like. They had a muzzle, like a dog, and there were small horns on top of their heads. They had tails, as well. There clothes were simplistic, and not well cared for. They carried long, crude spears. One seemed to have a bird perched on its shoulder. No, not a bird; a bat.

She could tell they were Kobolds due to the nameplates above their heads that said Kobold. Two of the Kobolds names were white, while two were in a light blue. All four names were encircled in red. Suddenly she remembered, as if she had already knew, that the Blue meant that the creatures were slightly weaker than her. White meant they were of equal strength. The red outline meant they were aggressive, and would attempt to kill her on sight.

"There we are, Laze murmured as the creatures came into view. "Hide," she commanded Sakura, who slipped behind a tree, Laze doing the same. Mirianye, however, yelled a challenge to the small creatures as she hefted her morning star, and readied her shield. They screeched back in reply. They were speaking, she thought, - there sounds did not seem thoughtless - but she could not understand them.

The spear bearers charged. Four against one seemed an easy battle to the small creatures. They were quick, but one was quicker than the others. It deftly dodged beneath Mirianye's swinging weapon, and whirled to stab at the elven woman. Laze leapt from her hiding spot to sever the creature's head from its neck. Sakura rounded the tree she had hide behind, appearing behind the attacking Kobolds, and swiftly stabbing a kunai into the neck of one.

Ability Created

Piercing Weapon Mastery

+5% Piercing Damage per Level

+1% Body per Level

The game informed her that her attack had critically hit, - of course, as she had severed the creatures spine - and the Kobold crumpled to the ground, dead. Enraged, one of the Kobolds turned to attack Sakura, stabbing at her with its spear. Sakura was quick, dodging, but the Kobold was quicker. The stone tip slashed across the top of her arm.

-6 HP

The second Kobold screeched something, raising its left hand -the one not grasping its spear- to face Mirianye. Bursts of light - energy- burst from its hand and flew at the Elf. Even in her heavy armor the Cleric was light on her feet, and was able to dodge two of the four projections. Her HP bar went down about a third of the way.

Sakura dove and ducked, keeping herself out of range of the darting spear. She was fast enough to keep out of the way, but the Kobold was fast enough to keep her on her toes, unable to switch from the defencive. She heard, rather than saw, the third Kobold die. A squelch of blood and flesh as Mirianye clubbed the creature to death. The last Kobold was alone.

Kobolds were cowardly creatures.

It turned, darting to escape. Sakura immediately darted forward after it, a shuriken flinging from her hand to take the monster in its shoulder. It screeched in fear and pain. The injured kobold stumbled over a fallen log, and that was the only opening Sakura needed. She punched, channeling chakra into the blow, and the creature lost a large chunk of health. She struck again, bring the back of her heel down on the monster's head. It died.

Encounter Complete

+25 Experience Gained

Sakura breathed heavily as she calmed herself.

"Hell yeah!" she heard Laze shout in celebration.

"Do they have anything on them," Mirianye asked, much more subdued than her Gnomish partner. Sakura remembered their discussion about loot as if it had happened. They thought she had a magic looting ability, and a bag of infinite holding. Something that was not unreasonable to think was possible here. Sakura would gather and carry any goods they found, and then would divvy them up after the completion of the quest.

'Loot.'

Gained - To Leveler's Tower Inventory

4x Short Spears

900 Silver Coin

Lv 2 Pearl of Power

Cloak of Arachnida

Sakura rattled off the names as they appeared before her. At the Pearl of Power Mirianye let a gasp.

"Ah, might I have it? For now?"

"What does it do?" Sakura asked, summoning the item from her inventory with a thought. It looked completely average, she thought, for a pearl.

"It allows me to use more magic each day."

Which did nothing for Sakura. She handed the item over.

"I wonder what this does." the small child murmured, summoning the cloak from her inventory.

Laze shrugged. "Hell if I know."

Sakura looked at the item, willing a item message to pop up.

Cloak of Arachnida

?

'Inspect.'

Ability Created

Observe

+10% Chance to Gain Information on Target

+1% Per Level Chance to Gain Information on Target

+1 Mind Gained

Cloak of Arachnida

~10,000 Gold Piece value

Gives wearer some of the abilities of a spider.

Grants wearer bonus against spider enemies.

"I'll wear it for now, if thats alright?"

Both her companions agreed. With a thought it was on her back. For a moment a tingly sensation filled her limbs.

Gear Ability Created

Spider Climb

Allows the subject to travel across surfaces as a spider does.

'Interesting. It'll let us do that without using chakra.' - 'Not that I know how to, yet.'

Using both hands and feet she scampered up the trunk of a tree, before she stepped onto a low hanging branch.

Laze clapped her hands in amazement. "Look at the little spider monkey go! Well, that opens up some tactics, doesn't it? You'll be able to use your throwing blades from up in a tree."

Mirianye nodded. "Its probably worth a fair amount, as well."

Sakura did a backflip off of the limb, landing lightly on her feet.

"Alright, let me heal you quick, and we can move on."

"Shouldn't you heal yourself as well?" Laze questioned, eyeing the blood on the small human's arm.

Sakura shrugged. "Probably," she answered. A brief glow of green surrounded her hand, and the cut healed, taking three points of chakra with it. "Alright, lets see what we have here," Sakura said, stepping towards the Elven woman. Mirianye, being a Cleric, could heal, and with Sakura's low ability level, likely far more efficiently. Despite that, Sakura would be the groups main healer, as she wanted to increase her levels. Besides, while her chakra would regen, both Mirianye and Laze had a set amount of spells they could use each day.

It was a challenge to heal the woman through the plate armor, but it would have been even more tiresome to have to woman ungear. She figured the added challenge could only make leveling that much easier. By the time she was done healing the wound - a burn - Sakura was down to 36 Chakra Points, but had gained a level in Mystic Palm.

The party continued on through the forest, battling until the sky started to darken, at which time Sakura lead them back toward the portal -her minimap letting her easily guide them- so they could set up camp. Over the course of the day Sakura had gained a total of 634 experience, which brought her to level five - her party members gaining a level as she did. She had leveled her Taijutsu to level 8, her Power Strike to level 3, Mystic Palm to level 2, her Piercing Weapon Mastery to level 4, and her Observe level to 7. She also gained 5 points in Body, 4 points in Mind, and 3 points in Spirit. Upon leveling she earned only a disappointing 3 points to spend, which she dumped all into Mind. Then, after setting up camp, she gained another point in Cooking.

The party looted a modest, and random amount of items. One of which was a Carriage that fit nicely in Sakura's inventory. It had never really occurred to her just how powerful that could be until the heavy item disappeared from the battlefield -a double battlefield, as the Kobolds they had killed had killed a small band of traveling traders, hence the Carriage- , and appeared in her game window. That night they ate well thanks to the food they had looted from the large, but very weakened band of Kobolds that had fought the traders. The party of three had given the slain traders a burial before moving on. Sakura was not sure if this place was really real, or not, but her companions had insisted on it, and she had no desire to protest.

As for equitable loot, Sakura had gained a Ring of Feather Falling, which coupled nicely with her cloak, allowing her to climb high without having to worry about the fear of falling. Laze had been given Boots of Striding and Springing, which allowed her to move faster, and jump farther. The group had also looted a shortbow, but as the arrows for it had been damaged, it did little good for them.

The group had gained three Arcane Scrolls : Jump, Obscuring Mist, and Scorching Ray. Neither of the other two could discern what the script was on them, but Sakura was certain that, while she could not read the language, the scrolls were made with fuuinjutsu, or at least something similar. She proved to be right when, after studying all three scrolls, she gained the Fuuinjutsu ability, as well as a level in crafting.

The trio split the night up, each taking a portion to keep guard while the others slept. Laze kept first watch, Mirianye took second, and Sakura took third. All went well until the sun started to rise, and a Huge Monstrous Spider - the exact name plate title - stealthily crept to the group, and took Sakura unawares. The bite to her shoulder blade was brutal, taking a total of 29 out of her 75 HP points. Her scream of pain had awoke her sleeping party members.

Every thirty seconds the poison took out a small blip of her HP, no more than 4, but the spider had a large amount of health, and was agile. It took the three quite a few minutes to get it down. At the end of the battle Sakura was left with 18 HP, and had to expend 17 CP to regain her health. The poison was healed by Laze. The battled gained Sakura 133 EXP, and a few vials of spider venom. She gained back her lost CP at breakfast - she made extra to add to inventory, just in case. After which the trio packed up camp - or rather, Sakura looted their camp - and set off for the day.

Over the course of the day the party encountered a giant mantis, a giant stag beetle, four dire wolves, seven dire bats, an encounter that included an Ettercap, - a horrifying creature with a humanoid body, but a spider's face - along with six giant spiders, thirteen dire boars, and a grand total of twenty eight kobolds. Sakura gained 2349 EXP, and was sure she would have gained more if not for the level cap. Upon leveling she gained 23 bonus points, 8 of which she put into Spirit, 5 went into Body, and the remaining 10 went into Mind. That, along with the stats and ability levels she had gained over that day made her stat page appear so :

Haruno Sakura

Academy Student

Age - Five

Level - 6

Xp - 0/3000

Health - 109/109

Chakra - 99/99

Mind – 53 (113)

Body – 40 (80)

Spirit - 40 (66)

She also gained a new ability.

Mind over Matter

+1 Mind Granted at level up

+10% Chakra Control

+10% Ninjutsu Damage

Over the next few days the amount of Kobolds they found lowered, and they pushed closer to where the Kobold camp - an abandoned mine - was rumored to be. Sakura was only able to gain another 21 one points in Mind, 15 in Body, and 23 in Spirit. Once she had gained that many they just stopped being granted, and so Sakura figured that the amount she was able to earn was capped due to her level. And, since the numbers she had earned in the dungeon were uneven, it must include the stats she had earned for prior levels as well. If her math was right, that was 30 points overall, which meant 5 per level.

Once her overall body hit 100 she gained yet another ability.

Body of War

+1 Mind Granted at level up

+10% Taijutsu Damage

+10% Weapon Damage

And with Spirit she gained yet another.

Spirit Without Measure

+1 Spirit Granted at level up

+10% Genjutsu Damage

+10% EXP Gain

She gauged that strength wise, she was already nearing her genin self - Not, that she noted, that was saying much.

Days turned to weeks, and with Sakura's ability to gather everything their multitude of enemies dropped the trio had gathered a staggering amount of loot. She studied scroll after scroll, until the language on them started to become readable, and her Fuuinjutsu levels rising to level 18. She could make minor exploding tags now, and did so, though the her supplies with which to make them were limited. The multitude of weapons they found enabled her to learn more abilities - Slashing Weapon Mastery, Bludgeoning Weapon Mastery, Ranged Weapon Mastery, and Enchanted Weapon Mastery. Once she put on gear she gained abilities for that as well : Cloth Armor Mastery, Light Armor Mastery, Medium Armor Mastery, Heavy Armor Mastery, Shield Mastery, Enchanted Armor Mastery.

The bonuses from which boosted her Body astronomically, and as the stat rouse over 200 the stat effects of Body of War doubled.

Sakura estimated that they had killed over two hundred Kobolds, and near fifty dire badgers - as they ranged closer the Kobold groups grew larger, and they used the badgers as fighting companions - by the time they were able to see the mine. From their scouting she guessed that their were near two hundred more living in and around the mine. That was worrisome. What was more worrisome, however, was the Green Dragon they had spotted flying overhead at times. From what Laze knew of Kobolds, it was likely that the Dragon ruled over the lesser reptilian creatures.

"It'll take us weeks to kill that many more," Laze complained upon seeing the mass of Kobolds. It had taken them over three weeks to get this far, so Sakura guessed that the estimate was not far off. "Plus, we don't want to have to deal with the dragon."

"I'll have to sneak in, and take Jorda right out from under their noses," Sakura replied. Over the few weeks she had used her transformation jutsu a few times to scout ahead.

"That will be hard to do as you do not speak Draconian," Mirianye replied.

"No matter, I'll just have to pretend I am mute. Its out best option, I think." Perhaps Sakura was rushing, but going three weeks without a level was making her anxious, and the lack of deaths was making her cocky.

Her partners agreed, and they went separate ways - Sakura, disguised as a Kobold, towards the mine, while Laze and Mirianye retreated to an agreed upon spot much farther from the Kobold camp. Sakura put her Persuasion skill to use, acting as if she belonged, and openly walked through the camp. Jorda - Laze's powerful rabbit familiar - was somewhere in the mines. Sakura was not sure how she knew, but she knew. It was like she and Jorda were connected by a taunt chain, giving her the sensation of being pulled, not strongly, but it was enough to guide her were to go.

It took Sakura hours to find the rabbit, regardless, as the mines were deep. Along the way she had encountered a chamber that contained piles of loot. Piles, upon piles. The sight made her shiver in delight, but she held off from looting it all right then and there. She did not want to alert the Kobolds that anything was wrong.

Jorda turned out to be in the Leader's compound, locked in a cage. The leader was a sorcerer, and had decided to make Jorda its familiar. Jorda, however, had other ideas, and so the Kobold leader had locked the poor thing away. The leader also was in their compound, but Sakura butchered the reptile before it could even notice her. With a thought she looted everything the chamber held, including Jorda, before swiftly making her way back the way she had came, dropping Exploding tags as she went - ones that had been designed to go off an hour after they were activated. Upon coming the room of loot she once again thought looted, and continued her way out. The explosions started going off before she could escape, but the calamity it caused only made it easier for the sprinting child to escape amongst the swarm of fleeing Kobolds she was transformed to look like. She was, of course, looting all the way though.

By nightfall she was out of the mines, and back within the forest. It took her to the early hours of the morning to reach her teams camp. With a thought Jorda was in her arms, and Sakura offered the thin, shaking rabbit to Laze. The Gnome cried as she swept the rabbit into her arms, and snuggled it to her chest.

The quest updated, but did not complete.

Down the Rabbit Hole

Escape or Survive Nelarth's attack.

Reward : 1 Level, Random Wonderous Item Reward

Who Nelarth was became apparent as the quartet heard a loud roar.

"Oh no." Mirianye murmured.

"The dragon," Laze whimpered.

"The dragon!" Sakura cheered, fist pumping. The other two shot her looks of bewilderment.

"It will kill us!" Laze hissed.

Sakura shook her head. "No, it won't. Look, you two head back to town, alright? I'll catch up. Trust me on this, okay? Even if I die I will respawn thanks to my abilities, and it will give you two time to escape. We can't lose."

Laze looked uncertain, worried, but Mirianye agreed. "Don't forget to bring our loot," the elf said before the two disappeared into the night.

"Hey lizard! Nelarth! I've got your gold!" Sakura screamed into the night. The hunting dragon bellowed in response, and dove towards the sound of Sakura's voice. Trees were knocked over, and the green dragon landed with an earthshaking crash. Above its head was a name plate and title.

Nelarth, the Juvenile Young Dragon

Sakura did not want to know what a full grown dragon might look like, as Nelarth was large. She guessed around ten feet long, and over five hundred pounds.

"You dare?" the dragon demanded, bellowing still. Sakura readied to attack, darting forward, but the dragon too was ready. Its jaws opened, and out blasted a cone of acid. Sakura darted to escape the blast, but she was not quick enough. As she was at the edge of the blast's acid coated her left side, and back. Sakura screamed in pain as the acid seeped under her armor - light at the time - and seared her skin.

-41 HP

Over the past few weeks she had gotten her HP just over 330, but in one hit it was reduced to 289. She channeled healing chakra to her hand, bringing it to the wound as she darted forward to the dragon. Her Mystic Palm had rose to level 33, and so she was able to heal the wound with a single CP. Unfortunately, she could not take her hand away as the acid continued to eat at her flesh.

She neared the dragon, weaving beneath its clawed strike to send a kick to the dragons shoulder. Its scales were hard, but her kicks were harder.

-37 Damage Dealt

In one hit she had taken about a fourth of its HP.

With words Sakura could not understand the dragon cast a spell, and she was sent flying backwards. Her slowfall did not help her here, and she crashed into the ground. Her healing stopped, and the damage to her body resumed. The dragon was still speaking, and in second Sakura found herself covered in biting vipers. She recovered quickly, despite the enormous pain, pushing herself up. She found her legs entangled in vines, however, which pinned her in place for the dragon's next attack. The dragon's claws came down in a crushing blow that would have killed the average mortal.

Sakura, however, was no longer average. The combination of attacks took almost half her health, but it took only a thought for her to ready the blade she used to sever the Dragon's limb. She sent healing chakra to her hand to help heal the damage to her body, but it was slow due to the team of venom and acid wreaking havoc on her. The viper bites were small, but added up, and she could do nothing about them as the maimed dragon was lashing out, snapping at her, and she had to fight the dragon off with her small blade with only one arm.

A thought later and Sakura was in full plate armor. The vipers could no longer attack her. The dragon was casting again, and Sakura heard something behind her. She knew the trick - Mirianye also had the spell Ghost Sound - but it still was enough to distract her, and the dragon was able to get its head passed her blade, and its tooth filled mouth clamped down onto her plate encased arm. The armor was able to keep the dragon's bite from severing her arm, but the dragon was strong enough to have the plate cut into her arm. The dragon's head whipped back and forth, tugging Sakura out of the encasing vines, and wiping her back and forth. She felt her shoulder snap out of socket. The bones in her arm broke. She was nauseous with pain, and screaming. A thought later, and another blade was in her free arm. Her healing stopped, and the damage being done to her was incredible. It she did not escape soon she would die.

She stabbed once, then twice into the dragon's exposed chest. The creature attempted to toss her away, but she clamped onto the creature's tongue. In return that dragon let out another burst of acid, and Sakura's hand soon was no more. She was able to get in two more stabs in the time, though, and the dragon was no more. Sakura was screaming, sobbing in pain. The dragon was gurgling as blood filled its longs. Sakura desperately channeled her chakra with her remaining hand, trying to stop the loss of her health. Everything seemed dark. Her HP was in the single digits.

Encounter Complete!

Quest Complete!

Down the Rabbit Hole

Reward : 1 Level, Tome of Clear Thought (5)

You have leveled up!

HP and CP Restored

Sakura wasn't sure if the sound she was making was laughter, crying, or both, but she couldn't stop. Tears rolled down her face as she hugged her regrown hand to her chest. She knew she had only been second away from death, if that. This near death experience had been far more painful than her other deaths, however, and she was in shock from the experience. The acid continued to tick at her health. Sakura crawled away from the fallen dragon. Crawling until she could pushed herself up. She unequipped the plate arm, and sprinted into the forest. When the damage grew she healed it. She was able to completely heal the effects of the acid, but it slowly chipped at her HP. It took her over an hour to find water, and she promptly dove into it, letting the water from the river wash away the acid eating at her flesh. Once the acid was washed away she crawled to shore, and promptly passed out.

Once again Sakura was caught unawares by a spider. This time, however, Sakura had no party to back her up, and promptly died.

750 Experience Dept Gained

Sakura found herself back at the portal, along with her two party members.

Laze let out an oath, falling back on her bottom. Mirianye had to steady herself, but did not fall. Sakura appeared lying on the ground, in the same position she had died in. The pink haired girl let out a wail of anger.

"Did the dragon kill you?" Mirianye asked, easily coming to terms with the fact that she, Laze, and apparently Sakura had all been teleported miles upon miles from where they had been. Sakura's magic was strange. There was no need to panic over it.

"No," Sakura whined. "I got offed by a stupid spider when I was asleep!"

"Ouch, tough luck," Laze replied sympathetically. Sure, Sakura might not be permanently dead, but still, that must have hurt. "So you escaped the dragon?"

"I killed him," Sakura said primly, feeling a bit offended they were so certain that she would not have been able to take the beast. Sure, it had almost killed her, and would have if not for the quest, but she had won.

"You know, I actually believe her," Laze said after a few moments.

"Incredible." Mirianye replied.

Sakura sat up, and sent the two a glare. "Its late, so lets set up camp for the night. If we push ourselves we might be able to make it back to town in the morning. Then we can divvy up the loot," she sent the two a smirk, "By the way, I ran into the dragon's treasure stash while I was in the mines. I took it all."

The trio partied that evening, with only a brief recess to kill a pack of hunting dire wolves. They fell into their night routine, and set off at first light. It was dark by the time they arrived at the moderate town, and so they decided to wait until tomorrow before dealing with anything, instead getting rooms at an inn.

Sakura was in heaven, being able to take a bath - though the water was not warm - and getting to sleep in an actual bed - though the mattress was thin. Before sleeping, however, she placed in the points from her latest level. Since she was given three points she placed one each into the three stats. She also read through the Tome she had earned as the quest reward, and found that it taught her the ability Meditation which allowed her to regenerate her CP at an increased rate while used, as well as grant her 5 points in mind.

In the morning the trio - plus rabbit - met up in the inn's common room to discuss, and, of course, have breakfast. Both Laze and Mirianye quiet expressed their disappointment in the food, saying it did not compare to Sakura's, who grinned in response. With much discussion the three humanoids decided that, as most of the wealth was in items, the only fair thing to do was to appraise the items. Then Mirianye and Laze revealed that there was no way they could get their items properly appraised in the village, especially not the magical items, and so they would need to travel to the closest city.

"Are you sure that the truth isn't that you two are just too afraid to travel the way alone?" Sakura wry questioned. Laze immediately protested, flushing red with anger, but Mirianye agreed, and so Sakura laughed, and agreed that indeed, they should stick together until the city.

She didn't want to admit it, but she had grown fond of the two, and was not quite ready to say goodbye. At first she was certain that this world could in no way be real, but now after getting to know the two, she was no certain of the opposite. Her companions had vibrant personalities, and had told her countless stories about her life. Maybe they had not been real before her arrival, but they were real now, and that was good enough for her.

Plus, she had to admit, this was theraputic - well, besides the whole near death then actual death part. She could be herself here, completely and truly. She was Haruno Sakura, a nearly grown woman trapped in a child's body who seeked to gain power. Her companions knew that, respected that. She still woke with nightmares, but she was much quicker to be able to put them behind her. She missed her friends, missed the future she was supposed to have with them, but the knowledge that her future could be so much more, so much more grand than she had ever imagined before made the hurt fade. She couldn't have that life, but she could have countless lives here. If things went wrong back in her world she could just turn back time. She could make everything the way she wanted.

For the first time in her life Sakura felt completely in control, and the feeling was intoxicating.

After a few days of rest the few took up the job of guards for a caravan heading to the city, and set out back on their journey. Along the way Sakura made back her experience dept. Upon arriving at the city the trio set about selling their unneeded items, which took over a week, and then divvying up the remaining loot. Sakura set about apprenticing herself to local craftsmen. Laze and Mirianye often got stir crazy, and so the trio would set out a small trips out of the city. Weeks became months, and months became years. Sakura found that her her abilities could not be leveled pasted level 35. She learned new abilities, and leveled them. She became a blacksmith, a tailor, a leatherworker, an alchemist, jewelcrafter, and an engineer. She learned how to perform first aid. A scroll from her initial adventure taught her the skill Handle Animal, and, while it did not give her any stat bonuses, she found that having an animal companion more than made up for that, and so she leveled that too.

Eventually the trio bit off more than they could chew on one of their outings, and Sakura sacrificed herself so her companions could escape.

At this death she did not, however, find herself at the portal. Instead, her world faded to black.

And then she was five years old ago, standing in front of her closet door. She was Haruno Sakura, the five year orphan, academy student, housemate of Konoha's most hated citizen, Uzumaki Naruto, and she had a lot of work to do.

But first, she wanted to see her boys, and so Sakura departed from her house, and headed towards the Uchiha clan's compound. Sure, it would probably be a bit weird to stop by, but she really did not give a damn. Besides, Sasuke had invited her.

* * *

Haruno Sakura

Academy Student

Age - 5 (23)

Level - 7

Xp - -750/3,500

Health - 459/459

Chakra - 354/354

Mind - 81 (304)

Body – 57 (351)

Spirit - 42 (188)

Group Factions

Konoha Civilians : Unfriendly : -4962/20,000

Konoha Ninja : Unfriendly : -4810/20,000

Uchiha Clan : Neutral : 962/20,000

Solo Factions

Uzumaki Naruto : Friends / Trusted: 48,062 /100,000

Sarutobi Hiruzen : Friendly : 29,596/100,000

Hatake Kakashi : Positive / Curious : 9,844/100,000

Uchiha Itachi : Positive / Curious : 8,209/100,000

Uchiha Sasuke : Postive / Curious : 5,840/100,000

Uchiha Shisui : Friendly / Curious : 14,194/100,000

* * *

Just to clarify, for those who missed the one line in the chapter, Sakura has a separate inventory for this dungeon. She can not use the items from here back home. In fact, any items she uses from her normal inventory become part of the dungeon inventory, and are then lost to her outside of it. She is aware of this as, at the start of the dungeon, she used some of her own weapons.

Also, there is a dungeon lockout (of which time I have not specified as of yet, and will be random generated) so she will not be able to spam the dungeon everyday to become superwoman. In fact, it could be years between her visits.

Sakura is still neutral. She helped her companions plenty, and in the end sacrificed herself for them, but she also went on a murdering spree. Yes, the humanoid creatures she killed were technically evil, but her intentions were not good, so neither were her actions. Let me be clear : Sakura was killing them for her own personal gain.

Oh, and all the creatures can be found in the Dungeons and Dragons monster manual, as can all the items she used. I mostly used the 3.5 edition. If your curious about anything she fought, you can just google something like "d&amp;d 3.5 Kobold".

Also, Sakura learned the skill Handle Animal, which means she could get a ninken, which would make sense as her sensei used them, but there is always the possibility of her training another animal. Any ideas? Otherwise she is getting a dog. Which works, cause dogs are awesome, right? The animal could even be some mythical or unnatural thing that the game gives to her. Maybe she could have multiple pets like a WoW Hunter that she can switch out. "Sakura, where did you get that monster?!" "I found a scroll in my daddy's old things..."

The amount of violence in this chapter lead me to up the rating of this story. I mean, she got her hand dissolved. Thats kinda a lot. She was practically tortured, and was killed. That is not just something that is going to be happening in this dungeon, either. Let me be clear on that. Sakura will suffer, both physically and mentally, and Sakura will die. A lot. So, I apologize for originally mislabeling the story. It wasn't intentional, but it is what it is.


End file.
